The future of some senior Indian players will be decided after the tour of Australia, as the BCCI takes stock of the shocking 0-3 loss against New Zealand at home while implementing a structured elimination policy before the start of the next WTC cycle.

There is a high possibility that the five-match Test series against Australia will be the last for at least two of the four seniors among Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who are in the final stages of their international careers. . .

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“Look, I don’t think we can look that far. It’s important to focus on the next series, which is Australia,” Rohit said when asked his opinion on India’s Test future, given that there is limited time left for his captaincy. .

“I’m not going to look beyond the Australia series. For us, the Australia series is very, very important now. We will try to focus on that instead of thinking about what happens next,” he said.

An informal discussion could take place between BCCI bigwigs and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit on the way forward for an aging team.

“There will certainly be stock taking and it could be informal in nature as the team leaves for Australia on November 10. But this has been a huge debacle but, with the Australia series just around the corner and the team already announced, it won’t be there will be no tinkering,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

“But if India fails to qualify for the WTC final in England, one can be sure that the four super seniors will not be on that flight to the UK for the next five-Test series. In any case, it is likely that the four have played their final test together at home,” the source added.

Also read: India 0-3 New Zealand: Rohit Sharma’s men fall to record low at home

It is understood that the BCCI is not interested in repeating the saga of 2011, when an old team was suddenly found to be out of place and hence the selectors, especially president Agarkar and head coach Gambhir, would have to talk to senior cricketers about the plan. forward.

For India not to depend on other calculations to qualify for the WTC final, they would need a 4-0 result in Australia, which so far seems almost impossible.

India can still qualify after losing the Border Gavaskar Trophy if other teams do not do well.

But once the Australia series is over and if India fails to qualify, the next cycle will begin with five Test series in England starting June 20 next year in Leeds, the selection committee could be forced to look at prospects a long term with opportunities for players. like Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, who seem ready for international cricket.

With Washington Sundar emerging as a strong prospect for the next 10 years, Ashwin’s future among India’s targets could come under discussion once the Australia series ends.

Jadeja, with better fitness and adept batting on foreign tracks, could persist, although there is a replacement ready for Indian conditions in Axar Patel, with Manav Suthar third in the pecking order.

For batsmen, between February 2021 and the current match, captain Rohit Sharma scored 1210 runs in 35 innings in home Tests at an average of 37.81 with four hundreds, but in the last 10 innings, he has There were six scores of less than 10. runs and two scores of less than 20, with two half-centuries.

During the same period, Virat Kohli played 25 innings at home for 742 runs at an average of 30.91 and a century on a flat platform in Ahmedabad.

“No doubt the pitches in Australia will be much better for batting, but erasing doubts after this kind of humiliation will be a difficult task,” said a former selector.

While Kohli, with his supreme fitness, can get through his invite despite poor results for almost four years, Rohit cannot be seen playing beyond this World Test Championship cycle.

Jasprit Bumrah has been named vice-captain but may not be the long-term solution due to his workload management, with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant being the two candidates who look suitable for the Test leadership.