BAN vs IND: 3 Indian Players who could be benched in 1st Test

With World Test Championship (WTC) final in the mind, team India would look forward to whitewashing Bangladesh in the two-match Test series and improve their position in the table. However, after a defeat in the ODI series and without the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, it’s not going to be an easy task for the Indians - even though Bangladesh are yet to beat them in a Test match.

Now, with so many regular players set to miss the first match at Chattogram, this will open up an opportunity for others to cash in. However, there are three cricketers who might have to wait longer for an opportunity. Who are these players? Let’s jump straight in without any further ado -

3 Indian Players who could be benched in 1st Test against Bangladesh

3. Abhimanyu Easwaran

Following an injury to Rohit Sharma, Abhimanyu Easwaran has been called up for the first Test against Bangladesh. However, with the availability of Shubman Gill and stand-in skipper KL Rahul, Easwaran may once again be seen warming the bench. Even though his recent numbers in domestic cricket or for India A are phenomenal, the Bengal opener is quite behind in the pecking order.

The 27-year-old played 78 first-class games and scored 5576 runs at an average of 45.33. Despite that, young opener Gill is likely to get the nod because of his experience with the national team. The 23-year-old played 11 Test matches for India and scored 579 runs at an average of 30.47. The top-order batter played a sensational innings (91 runs) against Australia in the fourth Test at Gabba in 2021 and ever since, solidified his place as the third-choice opener in the team.

Easwaran, on the other hand, scored back-to-back centuries in the recently concluded India A tour of Bangladesh. Now, in case Rohit Sharma fails to return back for the second Test and Gill fails to perform in the first, Easwaran might make his debut but at the moment, he is likely to get benched at Chattogram.