Lancashire's teenage opener Haseeb Hameed is expected to be called up for England's tour Bangladesh next month.
If selected in the 17-man squad on Friday, and then to play in the first Test in Chittagong on October 20, the 19-year-old would become England's youngest-ever opening batsman.
His anticipated promotion, after just 18 first-class matches but more than 1,000 runs this summer alone, would be merely one response to all manner of variables which have been thrown at the selectors.
Their job became still more taxing last weekend, when the latest googly was delivered by confirmation that not just one-day international captain Eoin Morgan but also opening Test batsman Alex Hales were not prepared to travel to Bangladesh because of security concerns.
Their absence from an otherwise settled ODI squad means musings on who might replace them in the 50-over top four suddenly became more urgent - and no less imponderable.
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England's schedule, moving straight on without warm-up after three ODIs and then two Tests in Bangladesh to five Tests in India, has made the selectors' task just that little bit tricker.
It is perhaps not surprising therefore that, contrary to initial indications, they will not pick a squad for India yet.
Possible England Test squad: A Cook (capt), H Hameed, J Root, G Ballance, J Bairstow (wkt), B Stokes, M Ali, C Woakes, S Broad, S Finn, J Anderson, A Rashid, J Buttler, M Wood, M Leach, K Jennings, L Dawson
Possible England ODI squad: J Buttler (capt, wkt), J Roy, M Ali, J Root, J Bairstow, B Stokes, C Woakes, C Jordan, D Willey, A Rashid, B Duckett, L Dawson, M Wood, L Plunkett, S Billings.
