Most eyes might be on the new BCCI panel of administrators and the upcoming IPL 2017 auction, but there is also the small matter of five more Test matches coming up for India over the next couple of months.
India vs England 2nd T20 highlights
The first of those will be a one-off Test against Bangladesh in Hyderabad next week, with the selectors expected to pick a 15-man squad for that game on Tuesday.
India showed their strength at home by beating New Zealand 3-0 and England 4-0, and while Bangladesh are a much-improved outfit, the home side will be expected to pick up a victory in this match.
Virat Kohli will be the captain for the side and there have been no suggestions made so far that the selectors might pick a second string team in order to rest some of the big names for the four-match Test series against Australia.
That means the likes of R Ashwin – India's most important player in Test cricket – Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav should all return to the fold.
Ajinkya Rahane, who missed the last two Tests against England after fracturing a finger, is also expected to return, although his place in the playing XI will not be quite as assured, considering his replacement in the team – Karun Nair – struck a triple century in India's last match.
Rahane, though, is an established Test match batsman, and while his technique against spinners is a little suspect – and Bangladesh have plenty of spinners in their team – he will definitely be a part of the squad and most likely the playing XI as well.
The big injury concern for India is Mohammed Shami, who is still not quite fully recovered. That opens up a bowling place in the squad, although considering it is just a one-off Test match, the selectors might look elsewhere to fill that place.
Wriddhiman Saha missed the last three matches of the series against England, but should come back into the side, with the chief selector MSK Prasad espousing the Bengal man's wicketkeeping skills recently. Saha also showed he is in good batting form with a double century in the Irani Cup and while Parthiv Patel impressed with the bat as his replacement, his wicketkeeping left a lot to be desired.
There is a chance, though, that both could be a part of the squad, with Parthiv able to act as opening cover.
In the spin department, what the selectors need to decide is if an extra spinner is needed in the squad to go with Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant, who is in the India A team for the warm-up game against Bangladesh. Amit Mishra has been quite disappointing in the long format and is at risk of being dropped.
Expected India squad for Bangladesh Test match:
Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
