The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 16-member squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on September 19, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, as their wicket-keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, returns to the longest format for the first time since December 2022. There is no return for the premier pacer of the side, Mohammad Shami, as he recovers from an ankle surgery.
Jasprit Bumrah, who was supposed to be taking a break for these two-match series before making a comeback in the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand, has marked his return, while India has called up the left-arm pacer from Uttar Pradesh, Yas Dayal, keeping an eye on the Australia trip later in the year.
Their former captain, KL Rahul, who missed the red-ball series against England apart from the first one in Hyderabad due to a quadriceps injury, has returned for the opening game of the home season. He contributed with 37 and 57 in the two innings for India A in the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024.
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Akash Deep, who was part of the England series at the start of the year, displayed an incredible performance with the ball as he picked up four wickets in the first innings and gave away only 60 runs in 27 overs, as the key feature of his performance was hitting the right line and length at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru before he backed it up with 5/56 in the second innings.
Dhruv Jurel, who made his debut against the Ben Stokes-led side and scored 190 runs in the three Tests, is the third wicket-keeper of the 16-member squad, as India finds themselves in a good headache regarding the selection of the position for the first game.
In the presence of Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, both of them are expected to be the leaders of the pace attack, while in the spin department, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be the regular members for India, as they aim to decide between the left-arm spin all-rounder, Axar Patel, and the left-arm wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, who didn’t enjoy a great game for India A going for 108 runs in 24 overs tasting the success once.
Virat Kohli, one of the stars of Indian cricket, missed the whole series at home against England due to personal reasons, as he left Hyderabad after training for the first couple of days. He will look to get back into runs, while Sarfaraz Khan finds himself in a sandwiched situation with the return of Rahul despite scoring 200 runs in the first three games.
The vice-captain of India, Shubman Gill, hasn’t performed to the expected level, having collected 1492 runs in 25 red-ball games at an average of 35.52, celebrating four centuries and six half-centuries, and these two-Tests could end up being his acid test for the Blue Brigade. Yashasvi Jaiswal will look to extend prime time in the red-balls.
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The hosts eye crucial points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. Sitting at the top of the rankings currently, India can earn the ticket to qualify in the final with five victories in the home summer.
Indian Squad For 1st Test vs Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.