After a disappointing defeat against Sri Lanka in away ODI series, India will begin their home season with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The Tests will be followed by three T20I games before the Men in Blue host New Zealand for three-Tests. India have been maintaining an upper hand in Tests as they haven’t lost a home Test series since 2013.
India’s probable Test squad against Bangladesh
The Asian giants defeated England 4-1 at home after losing the first Test. The first Test of the Bangladesh series will be played from September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. As India aim to continue their decade-long dominance, let’s have a look at India’s probable squad against Bangladesh.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma will once again don the captain’s hat and lead the side. Sharma is in great form and has been performing well across all the formats. In the Tests against England, Sharma came up with 400 runs averaging at 44 with two centuries. Accompanying him in the opening order will be young batting sensation, Yashasvi Jaiswal who took cricket by storm against England as he smashed 712 runs at an average of 89. Jaiswal recorded two double centuries and three half centuries. Shubman Gill, who has been coming up at number three after the team dropped Cheteshwar Pujara, scored 452 runs against England with an average of 56. He will be expected to come up with same kind of performance against neighbours.
Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kl Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan
India’s talismanic batter, Virat Kohli missed the Test series against England due to the birth of his son. He will resume his position unless he will be asked to try something new by Indian team’s new coach, Gautam Gambhir. Rishabh Pant will play his first Test since his horrific car accident and will be expected to come up with an impressive performance. KL Rahul played first Test against England and scored 108 runs but missed next matches due to injury. Dhruv Jurel will be selectors choice for a backup wicketkeeper. In England Test, Jurel averaged 63 in four Tests. Sarfaraz Khan, who had a memorable start to his Test career, will be expected to repeat his knock of three fifties in five innings.
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar
Indian star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who was rested in Sri Lanka series is most likely to make a comeback to the national side after two months. At home, Jadeja maintains batting average of 39 and bowling average of 20. Axar Patel, on the other hand, has an average of 35 with the bat and 19 with the ball in 14 Tests, all of which he has played in Asian conditions. Talking about Washington Sundar, he has delivered impressive performance in India’s white ball tour against Sri Lanka. He has played four Tests so far, all in 2021.
Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami
India’s spinning wizard, Ravichandran Ashwin scored a remarkable feat of completing 100 Tests during England series. He is India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 516 wickets and has an average of 21 with the ball at home. Kuldeep Yadav picked 19 wickets against England in four Tests at an average of 19. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s star at the T20 World Cup 2024, played a key role in India’s comeback against England as he picked 19 wickets at an average of 16. Mohammed Siraj has seen a dip in his performance in the limited over format, but his red ball performance remains intact. Mohammed Shami will make his comeback to the side after a heartbreaking defeat in ODI World Cup 2023 final. Shami had injured his ankle, and is currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru, and is most likely to be a part of Indian squad.