KL Rahul's tactical acumen will be tested along with his batting prowess when a depleted Team India take on a tricky Bangladesh side in the first of their two-match Test series, the result of which will have an impact on India's chances for the World Test Championship (WTC) final qualification.
The side are currently fourth in the WTC table behind Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka, and the only way of qualifying for the final in June is to win both the Tests against Bangladesh and then the four at home against Pat Cummins' Australia. The journey starts at the Zahoor Ahmed Stadium, which has traditionally favoured batters but should also offer some turn towards the business end of the match.
The visitors will start as favourites in the Test format, where Bangladesh are yet to beat India but the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja could hurt the side. Jadeja's absence on such tracks puts India on the back foot, especially when the opposition team is batting in the third innings or fourth innings.
The Jadeja-Ashwin duo, at least against lesser Test nations on sub-continental tracks could be lethal but Axar Patel has done his hard yards over the past two seasons as the second-choice left-arm spinner. As many as 10 Indian players, if all are fit, select themselves in the playing XI and the most important call that the two Rahuls — skipper KL and head coach Dravid — need to make is about the fifth specialist bowler — a third pacer or a third spinner.
Whether India will field a third-choice specialist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav or slow left-arm orthodox Saurabh Kumar is yet to be seen. Saurabh, who starred for India A team in the recently concluded two-Test series against Bangladesh A with 15 wickets, would feel that he has made his case for a Test Cap in at least one of the two games.
Rahul's test as a leader
In the past year, Rahul has not been exceptional as far as captaincy is concerned, and this series where he is likely to get two games will be an acid test as far as his long-term leadership ambition is concerned.
During the trophy unveiling ceremony with his counterpart Shakib al Hasan on Monday, Rahul told media persons that his team 'plans to play aggressive cricket' as they know what exactly needs to be done in order to reach the WTC finals for the second consecutive time.
But Rahul, whose performances in white-ball formats have been a bit underwhelming, will have to walk the talk in terms of showing the required intent and aggression in the batting department. He will have young Shubman Gill for company with Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer manning the middle order.
Rishabh Pant will be back in what could safely be termed his favourite format where his uncluttered batting has been a delightful spectacle for the Indian fans.
Bowling department selections will be key
In the bowling department, Umesh Yadav, a master at his craft on barren sub-continental tracks will have Mohammed Siraj, Ashwin and Axar Patel for company.
In case a third pacer is selected instead of an additional spinner, the choice would have been between two bowlers of one-Test experience — Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini — but with Unadkat yet to arrive in Bangladesh due to reported Visa issues, Saini is the obvious choice.
As far as the Bangladesh team is concerned, it will be keen to change its dismal winless record against India over the past 22 years. In the traditional format, Bangladesh has never had the bowling resources to trouble teams regularly even when they have played at home. Pacers Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, and Shoriful Islam along with spinners Shakib and Taijul Islam would love to alter the script.
But they do have a steady batting line-up for home conditions with skipper Shakib having 4000 plus runs under his belt. Add Mushfiqur Rahim's tally of 5000 plus runs and another former skipper Mominul Haque's 3500 plus aggregate, the batting does have a solid look.
India
KL Rahul (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Saurabh Kumar, Kona Bharat, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Litton Das (wk), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mominul Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanta, Rejaul Rahaman Raja, Zakir Hasan (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali.
(With PTI Inputs)
