The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for the
first Test match against Bangladesh, starting September 19. Yash Dayal got his
maiden call-up while wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant made a return to the
longest format of the game after a prolonged gap. However, middle-order batter
Shreyas Iyer failed to grab a spot in the squad.
India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah will play international cricket for the first
time after playing a crucial role in India's success in the T20 World Cup in June. In
the Test series, Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah will be partnered; the other two
pacers in the team are Dayal and Akash Deep. With four spinners in the
side—Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravichandran
Ashwin—India has understandably chosen to mount a spin-heavy attack.
Before the India-Bangladesh series, the Duleep Trophy was widely expected to be
important for selection in the Test team. The left-handed batter Pant did not
spare any effort in establishing an impression in the first round. Although Pant,
who is playing for India B, had a quiet first inning as a batsman against India A, he
was instrumental in helping the side set a competitive target of 275 runs with a
quick-fire knock of 61 off just 47 balls.
Pant looked flawless behind the stumps while wearing gloves, displaying his
reflexes and abilities to their full potential. He made several outstanding catches
behind the stumps and maintained his lively demeanor throughout the game to
keep the batters at bay.
Virat Kohli, the star batter for Team India, returned to the Test squad after
missing the England series earlier this year for personal reasons. For all five of the
Test matches in the series, Kohli made himself unavailable for selection; this year,
as he plays for the first time in the red-ball format, all eyes will be on the 35-year-
old veteran batter.
Shreyas was unable to secure a place in the squad, even though he scored a
brilliant half-century for India D in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy match
against India. C. Iyer's 2024 season has seen many ups and downs. Following an
injury he suffered during India's Test series against England, he was cut from the
BCCI's central contracts because of his perceived lack of availability for Mumbai in
the Ranji Trophy. In addition to KL Rahul being picked over Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan,
who wowed with his aggressive hitting in his debut series against England earlier
this year, retained his spot.

The Sri Lanka series made clear how difficult it is for Indian batters to deal with
spin, which now draws attention to their approach against Bangladesh's spin
threat. The recent 2-0 clean-sweep victory against Pakistan was made possible by
Bangladesh's spinners, which heightens the challenge that awaits the Indian
team.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL
Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja,
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.