IND vs BAN: 5 Indian players who might be benched in the first test in Chennai

The first IND vs BAN test will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, from September 19.

On Sunday, the Indian selection committee announced a 16-member squad for the first of the two tests against Bangladesh. The first test match will start on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Rishabh Pant is back in the test squad for the first time since his car accident in December 2022. Virat Kohli, who missed the England test series earlier this year due to the birth of his son, is set to don the whites again.

The majority of the players from the England test series have retained their places in the squad, while Yash Dayal is the newest addition.

In this article, we will talk about the five players from the 16-man squad who are likely to be benched in the first IND vs BAN test.

IND vs BAN: 5 Indian players who could be benched in the first test in Chennai

1. Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan had a cracking start to this test career as he scored 200 runs in five innings against England at an average of 50 and strike rate of 79 with three fifties.

However, with the return of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the squad (Rahul is the incumbent in the middle-order; he missed the last four England tests due to injury), Sarafaz might have to sit out from the first IND vs BAN test.

2. Dhruv Jurel

Wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel impressed against England in his debut series scoring 190 runs in four innings at 63, but will now most likely have to make way for the returning Pant.

Pant’s aggressive batting – which he showed in his second innings in the Duleep Trophy – and his left-handedness are crucial for the side, not to forget he was the first-choice keeper in tests before his car accident.

3. Kuldeep Yadav

The biggest name that could be on the bench in the first IND vs BAN test is Kuldeep Yadav. The wrist spinner is India’s first-choice spinner in white-ball cricket and has done superbly in the opportunities he’s got in test cricket.

However, for the first test against Bangladesh, India have all three of their spinning all-rounders – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel – available. With Axar providing the much-wanted batting depth, Kuldeep could be pushed out of the XI, despite doing well against England.

4. Akash Deep

India have picked four seamers in their squad for the first test. But only two of them are expected to play in Chennai; in fact, if the pitch is observed to be heavily in favour of the spinners from day 1, India may go with four spinners and only one pacer.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the two first-choice pacers in this squad. Hence, Akash Deep, who made an impressive test debut against England, will find himself on the bench in Chennai.

5. Yash Dayal

India have been looking for a quality left-arm pacer for the test squad for a while now. Arshdeep Singh didn’t do well in the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024, but Yash Dayal had a good game and has been rewarded with his maiden test call-up to the test squad for the first IND vs BAN test.

Dayal, though, will be on the bench with Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep ahead of him in the pecking order.

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