India vs Bangladesh 2024, 2nd Test: India's strongest predicted playing 11 against Bangladesh

India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs in the first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Rohit Sharma-led side struggled initially with the bat but overall, there were multiple positives. The team wouldl be hoping to pick up a win in Kanpur as well to seal the series. However, the surface at Kanpur will be different than that of Chennai, which may prompt the team management to change the playing combination.

The pitch curator of Kanpur recently mentioned that the pacers will enjoy the first two sessions of Day 1, while the batters will have support for the first two days. He expects the spinners to come into play from Day 3 onwards and they might end up dictating the game towards the end. The surface in Kanpur has traditionally helped the spinners. Will that change India’s playing XI for the second Test? Let’s figure out:

Here's India's Predicted XI against Bangladesh:

Openers: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal

India captain Rohit Sharma struggled with the bat in the first Test. He made six and five runs in two innings. However, one poor performance won’t give any headache to the management. Rohit has been sensational in this edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) and he is expected to find his rhythm soon. Once he gets into the zone, he can prove to be difficult to stop.

Rohit's opening partner Yashashvi Jaiswal, on the other hand, has been phenomenal in red-ball cricket ever since the beginning. After a stunning debut against West Indies last year, he went on to play some crucial knocks against England at home, as he finished as the leading run-scorer in that series. In the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, Jaiswal hit a fluent half-century and would hope to continue with the same momentum.

Middle order - Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul

Shubman Gill hit a majestic century in the second innings in Chennai. There were doubts if the youngster would able to deliver in red-ball cricket but Gill has shown that he is ready to perform leading to the high-voltage series against Australia. His form will be key for India going forward and the century in the previous game would give him plenty of confidence.

Someone in need of some runs is Virat Kohli. The star India batter played his last Test in the series against South Africa before playing the first Test against Bangladesh. He skipped the Duleep Trophy and now needs to spend more time in the middle to get into his zone. He made six and 17 runs in the first Test and would be hoping to get better as he is India’s main man in the middle order.

Also Read - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form is not a concern: Aakash Chopra

Rishabh Pant’s comeback to Test cricket is one for the big screen. He was out injured for 16 months and ever since he came back, the Dehradun-born cricketer has shown that he is still the same player. He made a sensational century in the second innings against Bangladesh in Chennai and would look to repeat it.

KL Rahul looked in good touch in the second innings in Chennai before India declared. There is no concern about his form at the moment and the team management will back him. However, he needs to get runs as there are the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhurv Jurel are sitting outside to take his spot.

All-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin

The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja helped India win plenty of matches in the past. They are India’s biggest weapon in the red-ball arena. In Chennai, the duo showed that they are still the game-changers.

When India were reduced to 144/6 in Chennai, they stitched a partnership of 199 runs as Jadeja made 86 runs while Ashwin amassed 113. Even with the ball, they were extremely effective as Ashwin went on to pick up a six-fer in the second innings to be adjudged Player of the Match.

Bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj

Akash Deep is likely to be dropped to bring Kuldeep into the set-up as the surface is expected to heavily assist the spinners. The pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj is likely to continue unless the team management decides to rest one, particularly Bumrah, keeping the Australia Tests in mind.

He was excellent for India in the first innings, picking up a total of five wickets. Siraj struggled and that is one area India might feel slightly concerned about. Kuldeep, on the other hand, is a match-winner on his day and is expected to perform on his home ground.

India’s predicted XI against Bangladesh in the second Test:

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj