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Having already secured a win in the opener, India take on jolted Bangladesh as Shakib Al Hasan-led side won the toss and decided to bat first in the second Test at the Sher-e Bangla stadium in Mirpur on Thursday (December 22).
Meanwhile, India's stand-in skipper Rahul dropped his ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav from playing XI to make space for star pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who will be playing his first Test since debut in 2010. Regular captain Rohit Sharma continues to sit out of the playing XI as he injured his thumb in the second ODI against Bangladesh and hasn't completely recovered from it. Notably, Kuldeep took eight wickets in the first Test but despite his exploits India decided to bench him.
On the other hand, Bangladesh made two changes to their side as they brought in Mominul Haque and Taskin Ahmed in place of Yasir and Ebadot respectively.
“We'd have done the same. To be honest, on seeing the surface, not sure what to make of it. There is some grass that you can see, but it's generally good to bat here. There is generally some bounce here and some help for both pacers and spinners. We'd have wanted to bat first but we aren't sure what to expect. Just need to play good cricket. Need to bowl well in the first innings. It does seem damp and we need to get early wickets. We made one change - Kuldeep misses out and Unadkat comes in. Unfortunate decision for us to leave him (Kuldeep) out but it's an opportunity for Unadkat,” India captain Rahul said before the match.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's skipper Shakib said, “We'll bat first. It will be challenging for the first two hours. If we can manage that, we can score well. Fast bowlers get some help here but it is generally good for batting. Two changes - Mominul is playing for Yasir, Taskin in for Ebadot.”
India's Playing XI: KL Rahul(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Bangladesh Playing XI: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Nurul Hasan(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed.
