Team India lock horns with Bangladesh as Rohit Sharma-led side lost the toss and were invited to bat first in the first ODI of the three-match series at Sher-e-Bangla in Mirpur on Sunday (December 4).
Meanwhile, star speedster Kuldeep Sen marked his ODI debut as Rohit fielded four all-rounders (Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur) for the series opener. KL Rahul will keep wickets in the absence of Rishabh Pant, who has been released from the squad. Also, India's star all-rounder Axar Patel has also missed the first ODI as he was not available for the opener as per BCCI.
“To be honest I was not sure. The pitch seems to have some moisture, so we would have bowled first too. Some injures and few issues, we got four all-rounders playing. Washington, Shardul, Shabaz, Deepak Chahar. Kuldeep Sen is making his debut. Myself Shikhar and Virat up the order. KL Rahul will keep wickets. We hardly played many games in New Zealand, but we fought well. Some of the guys batted really well. World Cup is still far away, we don't want to look too far ahead. We want to focus on what we have in hand and play accordingly,” India skipper Rohit said before the match.
“We are going to bowl first. Looks like it could be sticky for the first ten overs, that's why we are bowling first. Three seamers and two spinners for us. We want to follow the process and play good cricket,” Bangladesh skipper Litton Das said after winning the toss.
Das will be leading Bangladesh in this series with Tamim Iqbal being sidelined due to groin injury. Bangladesh's star pacer Taskin Ahmed has also been ruled out of the first ODI due to recurring back pain.
Right ahead of the match, India's star batter Shreyas Iyer said," We got few matches in New Zealand, although rain played spoilsport. I feel I had a good learning over there. Travelling was hectic but as international players we got to cope with it. We arrived here day before yesterday. This is a great platform for me to perform at the highest level. With every opportunity I will look to do well. I am feeling fresh."
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Sen
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das(c), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain
