Yash Dayal earns maiden call-up; Pant, Kohli return as India name squad for first Bangladesh Test

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 16-member squad for India's first Test against Bangladesh, which begins on Thursday, September 19, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Rohit Sharma will lead the side which comprises stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. India's last Test series was at home against England, which they won by a 4-1 margin. Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar, and Saurabh Kumar, who were part of the England series at various stages, couldn't find a place in the side for the upcoming assignment. 

Meanwhile, Kohli, who had opted out of all five Tests against England citing personal reasons, has made a return while Rishabh Pant is also back in the Test setup for the first time since his return to competitive cricket earlier this year. His last Test appearance came in December 2022 against Bangladesh in an away series. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, who both performed well against England, have retained their spots.

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Left-arm seamer Yash Dayal, meanwhile, has received his maiden India call-up after doing well for India B in the Duleep Trophy 2024 first-round clash against India A. He had figures of 1/39 and 3/50 while he scored 10 and 16 across the two innings.

Bengal seamer Akash Deep, who made his debut against England earlier this year, picked up nine wickets in the aforementioned Duleep Trophy clash and deservingly retained his place. Mohammed Siraj, who was withdrawn from the domestic red-ball competition due to illness, has recovered in time and will be sharing the new ball duties with Bumrah against Bangladesh.

Najmul Hossain Shanto's men will be high on confidence after whitewashing Pakistan in a two-Test series in their backyard earlier this month. However, India have been one of the most consistent teams in red-ball cricket in recent years, especially at home. The hosts would want to win the two Test matches and consolidate their position at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

India's squad for the first Test versus Bangladesh

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.