India Playing XI For 1st Test vs Bangladesh: The Indian cricket team will take the field after a rare break of more than a month when they face Bangladesh in the first match of the two-match Test series, starting on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
The second Test will be played in Kanpur. This series is part of the ongoing World Test Championship 2023-25, in which India are at the top of the standings.
This series will serve the Indian team well, as they will then host New Zealand for three Test matches and then embark on a crucial five-match Test tour of Australia. All these three Test series are part of the WTC cycle, and India will be looking to make a hat-trick of WTC finals.
Earlier this month, the BCCI announced a 16-man squad for the first Test against Bangladesh. The biggest talking points were the return of Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul.
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This is Pant’s first Test series since his car accident in December 2022. He will be competing with Dhruv Jurel for the wicketkeeper’s spot. Jurel made his Test debut against England at home earlier this year and impressed everyone with his temperament. However, Pant was the incumbent keeper-batsman and had cemented his place in the Test side through the sheer weight of his performances before his car accident.
In the Duleep Trophy’s first round, the left-hander smoked a cracking fifty. He is expected to start against Bangladesh ahead of Jurel. Not to forget, he brings the left-handedness also in the middle order.
Kohli missed the entire five-match Test series against England due to the birth of his child in London. The other members of the Fab Four—Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith—are ahead of him in terms of Test centuries. The former India captain would be itching to pile up some big scores in Test cricket.
KL Rahul played in the first Test against England but missed the rest four games due to an injury. Although Sarfaraz Khan had a great time in his debut Test series against England, Rahul is expected to return to the middle order.
A conundrum for India would be the bowling combination. R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah are certainties in the line-up. Mohammed Siraj is the second pacer in line after Bumrah, which would leave the management to choose one between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, both of whom have done well in their chances. However, while Axar provides batting depth, his bowling in Tests since last year has dipped, and Kuldeep, on the other hand, produced brilliant performances against England.
With the Australia tour lined up for November, India might want to give Kuldeep some game time in the home Test matches.
Also Read: IND vs BAN head to head record in Tests
Another school of thought is that if the pitch is extremely spin-friendly, then India could go in with only one pacer, Bumrah, and pick four spinners.
India Playing XI For 1st Test vs Bangladesh – Predicted
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
India squad for the 1st Test vs Bangladesh:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
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