Bangladesh square off against mighty Indians– India’s Tour of Bangladesh Series Preview

Bangladesh square off against mighty Indians– India’s Tour of Bangladesh Series Preview: India is set to tour their neighboring nation, Bangladesh to play one Test match, followed by 3 ODI games. The recent performances of the Bangla tigers, had forced the Indian selection panel to send their full strength squad. India will be happy to play on the subcontinent grounds after their poor show in Australia. India is currently placed at the third position in ICC Test Teams rankings. The new skipper, Virat Kohli will be leading the Indian Test team and will be hoping to start off with a win as the conditions are home like and there would hardly be a surprise for them. With the home crowd backing them, Bangladesh looks confident to upset the Indians.

India will come into this series with the confidence of beating Bangladesh in the quarter finals in the world cup 2015. On paper, India looks to be the stronger of these two squads. Having said that Bangladesh should not be underestimated as it has always been an unpredictable team and will be waiting for its chances to stun the visitors as they whitewashed Pakistan earlier, in the summer. Lets us take a look at the both the squads for the Test match.

Bangladesh Squad:

Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes,Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Shahid, Rubel Hossain, Jubair Hossain, Litton Das, Abul Hasan.

Mushfiqur Rahim will be leading the home side as usual. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes are expected to open the innings for Bangladesh. Tamim has been in sublime touch; he has scored 2 centuries and a half century in the recent series against Pakistan and will be looking forward to extend his form. Another batsman who has impressed the BCB is, Mahmudullah.  With the likes of Shakib and Rahim, the middle order also looks stable. The only cause of worry would be the lack of experience and skill in the bowling department. Rubel Hossain’s return to the Test squad will be a huge boost for the home side. Even then, the skill to pick up 20 wickets in the test match is not present in abundance with this team.

India Squad:

Virat Kohli(c), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan , KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma.

The Indian team will be led by, Virat Kohli. He had a great Test series against Australia and it would be interesting to see how he marshals his troops in the subcontinent. Murali Vijay, who had a forgettable IPL season, will be looking to come hard against the Bangladesh bowlers. The middle order looks firm as Rahane, Kohli and Pujara have been in good form.

All eyes will be on Virat Kohli, and it would be great to see how he handles the spinners in these conditions. Harbhajan Singh has been recalled into the test team and he would want to prove his class and cement a place in the Indian team. The Indian pace department, will be happy to see Ishant fit again. He will be leading the pace department along with Umesh Yadav. Kohli may be tempted to play both Harbhajan and Ashwin in the spin friendly conditions. The duo can cause some serious trouble to the Bangladeshi batsmen.

Bangladesh and India look set, and it is going to be a cracker of the match at Fattullah. If India hopes to retain their third position in the ICC Test Teams ranking, they have to beat Bangladesh. And even a draw will be a moral victory for the hosts.

Schedule: