Rishabh Pant returns to the Test squad for the first time since his car accident in December 2022, as India announces its lineup for the upcoming match against Bangladesh. Unfortunately, Mohammed Shami will not participate as he is still recovering from ankle surgery.
Yash Dayal, a left-arm seamer, has been awarded his first Test call-up, aimed at strengthening the team ahead of the five-Test series in Australia later this year.
The 16-member squad sees the return of KL Rahul, who was sidelined after participating in just one Test against England due to injury. Akash Deep, who debuted during that series, has also retained his place on the team after a strong performance in the Duleep Trophy, where he secured nine wickets in a game in Bengaluru.
Rahul's last Test appearance was in January against England, after which he suffered a quadriceps injury that kept him out of the remainder of the series. In the recent Duleep Trophy match, he demonstrated his form with scores of 37 and 57 for India A. Pant chipped in with scores of 7 and 61, in addition to seven catches behind the stumps.
Dayal had an impressive showing in the Duleep Trophy, taking three wickets in the final innings to help India B secure a comfortable victory. In his 24 first-class matches to date, he has claimed 76 wickets at an average of 28.89.
Dhruv Jurel, who made his debut against England and scored 190 runs across three Tests, will serve as the second wicketkeeper. India has opted to leave out Rajat Patidar, KS Bharat, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, and Mukesh Kumar from the squad.
The pace attack will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, while R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav will continue to lead the spin department.
The first Test against Bangladesh is set to take place in Chennai from September 19, followed by the second Test in Kanpur starting September 27. These matches will be followed by three T20 internationals.
India's Squad for the First Test Against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.