India Announces Squad for 1st Test: Bumrah, Pant Return for IND vs BAN
New Delhi: The noise around Jasprit Bumrah’s one-month rest did sort of come to an end when the star pacer was seen in the squad for the first two-match IND vs BAN Test series. Rishabh Pant also made a comeback to the Test fold after a 20-month break as India announced their 16-man squad for the series-opener. As good those returns sound, there are also departures of some key players and an omission of an official vice-captain that have kept everyone talking.
Bumrah had been declared the vice-captain in the previous Test series between India and England. But for the series between IND vs BAN, no player has been assigned to the role, for which there are a lot of questions arising.
In fact, Bumrah is a part of the leadership group in this Indian team, much like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. While both Rahul and Pant are in contention to take over India’s mantle of long-term Test captaincy, neither of them has been named the vice-captain for the Bangladesh series – further adding intrigue to the decisions taken on the leadership combination for the IND vs BAN Tests.
Interestingly, no reason has been cited as far as the absence of a vice-captain is concerned, which is expected to be sorted out along with captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir in front of the Bangladesh series. Meanwhile, the returning Virat Kohli, who missed the home Test series against England early this year, and fast bowler Mohammed Shami have not been named. Uncapped Uttar Pradesh left-arm pacer Yash Dayal also received his maiden Test call-up for the IND vs BAN series.
Rishabh Pant played his last Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur back in December 2022. Days later, he was involved in a serious road accident. Months later, Pant returned to action during the IPL this year – just about in time for him to regain form ahead of the IND vs BAN series.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar had indicated that injured Mohammed Shami may be overlooked for the first Test. However, Yash Dayal, who had a season to forget in the IPL, got a salve with his maiden Test call-up.
KL Rahul, who made a comeback after being injured, proved his fitness with scores of 37 and 57 for India A in the Duleep Trophy. He has found his spot back in the squad for the IND vs BAN Test series.
While wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who had scored match-winning knocks against England in the Ranchi Test, retained his place. Bengal pacer Akash Deep, who had fared exceptionally well in the Duleep Trophy game, taking nine wickets in the contest, too made it to the squad.
Related: Rishabh Pant Joins India vs Bangladesh Test
India Squad for 1st Test vs Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.