Rishabh Pant is back in the Indian Test setup after nearly a 20-month wait. A 16-man squad has been named for the opening Test of the two-match series starting on September 19. Virat Kohli, too, returns to the fold, having taken a break during the home series against England earlier this year following the birth of his second child. Jasprit Bumrah then returns for the first time in the Indian setup since the T20 World Cup.
Mohammed Shami & Shreyas Iyer Left Out
There aren’t any major jolts in this squad but a couple of omissions are rather prominent. Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami are the big names missing out, both having been dropped from red-ball cricket of late. Shami is, of course continuing to work his way back following an injury picked up during the ODI World Cup last year. With Iyer, it is a bit more complicated. Although he was picked in the recent Indian ODI team, and scored a good half-century in the Duleep Trophy for India D, his exclusion from the Test squad has raised eyebrows. That seems to be a result of his inconsistent red-ball form and the hard year the 29-year-old batsman had enjoyed.
Also Read: AFG Vs NZ, One-Off Test: Live Streaming, When And Where To Watch
Shreyas Iyer’s Inconsistent Form
Earlier this year, Iyer’s progress came to a grinding halt when an injury saw him during the Test series against England. The axing from BCCI’s central contracts and him not being available for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy only compounded his woes. He did stage a comeback and led Mumbai to a title and then guided KKR towards IPL success. But his red-ball form deserted him. Recent struggles were seen in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, where he had little say.
Iyer had an irregular Duleep Trophy, scoring nine runs in the first innings and a half-century in the second. Still, that inconsistency in the longer format performances most likely caused the selectors to leave him out of the Test squad. Middle-order positions are highly contested, with Sarfaraz Khan’s impressive debut series against England and KL
Consistent selection of Rahul as a Test team regular has also pushed Iyer further down the pecking order.
Also Read: Duleep Trophy 2024: Dhruv Jurel Equals MS Dhoni’s This Wicket-Keeping Record
Uncertainty Looms Over Mohammed Shami’s Return
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had hinted a few weeks ago that Mohammed Shami was in the reckoning for a comeback during the Bangladesh Test series. With those indications, too, Shami’s comeback is still not there as he was not inducted into the Test squad.
Going by a PTI report last month, Shami is expected to return to competitive cricket in October but not in the Indian Test team. He is expected to play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy starting October 11, as a tune-up for his return to national selection. Further, Shami may also miss at least the first Test of the next three-match series against New Zealand.
India Vs Bangladesh- Squad Details
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
