India national cricket team has somehow reached a point where an asterisk has become part of team selection. The BCCI’s 15-member squad for the Afghanistan T20I series contains four of them — Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana — all listed as “subject to fitness clearance”. The series does not begin until September 13, yet the selectors have chosen to announce a squad that comes with a built-in disclaimer. But why? If these players are fit, pick them. If they are not fit, leave them out and bring them in once they clear the required tests. It really should not be this complicated.
The bigger issue is that this is no longer an isolated occurrence. India have spent a considerable part of the year managing injuries, rehabilitation and fitness assessments, with players repeatedly returning to squads before their availability is completely certain. Bumrah is coming back after a knee injury that also kept him out of the Sri Lanka Tests, while Nitish, Washington and Harshit have all had recent injury concerns. The BCCI has a Centre of Excellence, a medical team and a fitness-testing system. So why does the final squad announcement still look like a list of players who may or may not be available?
IND vs AFG: Jasprit Bumrah, India’s Asterisk-Filled Squad Raises Concerns
Bumrah’s name naturally attracts the most attention. India’s premier fast bowler has been handled carefully because of his workload and injury history, yet his return has again been announced before his fitness is formally cleared. That is precisely where the BCCI needs to be clearer. Selection and medical clearance should be two separate steps. A player can be part of India’s plans without necessarily needing to be named in the final playing squad weeks before the first match. The same applies to Washington, Nitish and Harshit. If all four pass their fitness tests, nobody will complain. But if one or more fail, the familiar cycle begins again — replacement, last-minute planning and questions over whether the player was rushed back.
Team India’s Injury List: Workload, Rehabilitation And The Fitness Question
This is where Indian cricket needs to look beyond individual injuries. The modern game is brutal on players, particularly those moving between formats, franchises and international cricket. But workload management cannot simply mean keeping a player away from matches until the next selection meeting. It has to include a clear return-to-play process and better communication between selectors, coaches and medical staff. The BCCI already has the infrastructure to do this. What it lacks, at least from the outside, is clarity. When four names carry four asterisks, fans are left wondering whether the squad is actually final.
IND vs AFG: India Must Stop Treating Fitness as a Selection-Day Footnote
The Afghanistan series is not a do-or-die assignment. It is a three-match T20I series in Delhi before the Asian Games, and the same squad is set to travel to Japan later in September. There is therefore even less reason to rush the process. India have enough depth to wait. Announce the fit players, let the injured ones complete their rehabilitation and add them when they are cleared. It would be cleaner, more transparent and far easier to understand. Indian cricket does not need four asterisks to tell us its players are injured. It needs a system that tells us when they are actually ready.
