Indian cricket team will be taking on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series starting from September 19. The Indian team will be playing their first red-ball series since March 2024 where they defeated England 4-1. On the other hand, the Bangladesh side is coming to India after a historic series win against Pakistan where they clean sweeped their Asian rival. BCCI will be announcing the Indian squad next week and there will not be any big changes in the squad. This series will also be the first red-ball assignment for the new Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir.
In an exclusive conversation with Sports Tak, a source close to BCCI revealed that performances in the first round of the Duleep Trophy aren't expected to have a major say in the team selection for at least the Bangladesh series. Virat Kohli will be making his Test return for the first time since January. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the opening pair.
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Sarfaraz Khan is set to be in the mix and the trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel will most likely be the three spin-bowling all-rounders. The light will also be on Rishabh Pant who is expected to be making his return to whites for India. He will be returning to the Indian team for a Test match after 634 days. He was out of action for a long time after being part of a horrific accident. He made his IPL and India return earlier this year and was even part of the India's T20 World Cup-winning team.
Along with him, young Dhruv Jurel will also be a part of the team as the other wicket-keeper. Where Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Mukesh Kumar most likely have the confirmed places in the squad. Both Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are in for a fight for the final remaining spot. This series will be crucial to assemble India's line-up for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy which will be held in Australia later this year.
Tentative squad for Bangladesh series
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep/Arshdeep Singh
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