The squads to play Bangladesh in the forthcoming T20I and Test series against Bangladesh have been announced by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India.
In terms of the T20I series, skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the three match series: instead Rohit Sharma will lead the 15 man squad for the games that start on November 3rd. There are two new faces in the squad though in the form of Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, and all-rounder Shivam Dube.
Samson earned his place after recently scoring a double century against Goa in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He will be back-up to Risbabh Pant who remains first choice wicketkeeper for India in the shorter forms of the game, although he has lost his test place to Wriddiham Saha for the time being.
Dube, meanwhile who made his first class and List A debuts in 2017, gets his chance because first-choice all-rounder Hardik Pandya is recovering from back surgery, and is not expected to return for 3 – 4 months.
The leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also been recalled to the T20I squad, as has Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur. Like Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja has been rested.
Both men though have been included for the subsequent two test match series, as India named a virtually unchanged squad from that which white-washed South Africa so comprehensively earlier this month.
The one slight surprise is the inclusion of middle order batsman, Hanuma Vihari, who featured in the first test against South Africa but was dropped for the subsequent two matches, at the expense of Shahbaz Nadeem.
The spinner made his debut in the third test against South Africa in Ranchi, and played well, taking four wickets, and earning generous praise from coach Ravi Shastri at the end of the match. Despite that performance, he did not do enough to earn his place in the squad.
The matches with Bangladesh will now go ahead, after Bangladeshi’s international players called off the strike action they had called over pay and conditions, after the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) acceded to most of their demands.
The T20I series will begin on November 3 in New Delhi. The second T20I will be played on November 7 in Rajkot and the third match is scheduled to take place in Nagpur on November 10.
Meanwhile the test series, which will form part of the World Test Championship, will begin with the first Test, which will be played in Indore, starting on November 14. second Test will be played at the Eden Gardens from November 22.
India are currently leading the Championship with 240 points, well clear of their nearest challengers, New Zealand and South Africa, although they have played five more matches.
