Team India. (Photo Source: BCCI)
India (IND) and Bangladesh (BAN) will take on each other in the first Test of the two-match series on Thursday, September 19 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is all set to resume their ICC World Test Championship campaign, with a schedule of 10 Test matches ahead. This series will be special for the newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and his coaching staff as it will be their first assignment in the red-ball format.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for just the opening Test with some new faces being inducted along with the senior pros. To prepare for the match conditions at Chepauk stadium, the squad has been training intensively in Chennai’s hot weather for the past week. India will field their strongest playing XI to edge past the visitors on their home soil.
Here’s India’s Predicted XI against Bangladesh:
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal. (Photo Source: Getty images)
The Indian team will be expected to open with skipper Rohit Sharma. With 416 runs in his last ten innings, the veteran’s form could be key for the hosts in the upcoming clash. Sharma who is known to give India good starts at the top will be once again put to the test in the upcoming game. In the previous home Test series against England earlier this year, the 37-year-old smashed 400 runs in the five-match series including two centuries.
Left-hand batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been complementing his senior partner at the top brilliantly for one year. The youngster has been scoring runs consistently in all the formats, but his performances in the longest format of the game are nothing short of brilliance. In the series against the Three Lions, the southpaw was the highest run-scorer with 712 runs in nine innings, including two double centuries and three half-centuries, and played a huge role in India’s 4-1 series win.
Middle Order: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant
Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
After openers, the middle-order will have the job of adding those crucial runs to the scorecard. Star batter Shubman Gill will play a huge role in making that possible. At the No.3 spot, the Punjab-born has been instrumental, scoring 618 runs in 17 innings. Meanwhile, Gill featured in the opening game of the ongoing Duleep Trophy tournament, leading the India A team and scoring 46 runs in two innings.
Moving on, star batter Virat Kohli will hold on to his no. 4 position. The seasoned batter didn’t feature in India’s last Test series due to the birth of his second child. But with new challenges ahead, Kohli will be optimistic to let his bat do all the talking. Interestingly, Kohli’s best Test score against Bangladesh is 204 runs which came back in 2017.
KL Rahul will walk in next and the team will be banking on him to score runs. Rahul’s last Test was against England in Hyderabad. The right-hand batter was ruled out after the second Test due to a sore knee. But his outing with the bat in the opening Test was incredible as he scored 86 runs in the first innings.
After a gap of 21 months, star wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will be all set to don the India whites. Pant who missed out on a lot of cricket due to his accident made a roaring comeback in 2024 in the IPL and then for India in the T20 World Cup. The dynamic batter will be once again looking to entertain the fans with his unconventional shots and his chat from behind the stumps.
All Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin
Jadeja and Ashwin. (Photo Source: BCCI)
Ravindra Jadeja has been a Valuable Player of Indian cricket for several years across formats having regularly contributed to the team’s victory with bat, ball, and also his outstanding fielding. The Saurashtra-born will once again have a crucial hand to play in this Test series. After his T20I retirement, Jadeja’s focus is mainly on red ball cricket and the 50-over format. Jadeja will be a potent threat to the opposition, looking at his vast experience playing at the Chennai pitches.
Local boy, Ravichandran Ashwin will be another all-rounder in this line-up. Ashwin who will be playing his 101st Test is India’s second leading wicket-taker with 516 wickets in Test cricket. The 37-year-old having played at Chepauk since his childhood knows how the pitches behave very well.
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Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. (Source:X/Twitter)
Leading India’s pace attack will be none other than Jasprit Bumrah. The speedster wreaked havoc in the England series, claiming 19 wickets in eight innings. Since his Test debut in 2018, the 30-year-old has been brilliant with the ball in his hand. Though Chennai is known for spin-friendly wickets, Bumrah’s magic will be still felt and the Bangladeshi batters need to worry while facing the pacer.
Partnering Bumrah in the fast bowling arsenal will be Mohammed Siraj. The 30-year-old has quickly made his place in India’s fast bowling group after his brilliant performances outside India. Siraj has played just two Test matches against the eastern neighbours and has bagged six wickets.
India will field another spin bowling option in the form of Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. Though Axar Patel is present in the squad and has an exceptional track record in Tests at home, the hosts might look to bank on Yadav who gives them a wrist-spinning option. Yadav’s career-best Test figures of 5/40 have also come against the same opponents and he will look to have a similar performance in the forthcoming series.
India’s predicted XI against Bangladesh in the first Test:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.
