The announcement for India’s Test squad for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh is set to happen after the first round of Duleep Trophy 2024. It is believed that the domestic tournament can have an impact on India’s squad selection.
The first round of matches of Duleep Trophy will be played from September 5-8 in Bengaluru and Anantapur. Meanwhile, India’s home season will kick off from the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, beginning on September 19.
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India’s Test squad for Bangladesh series set to be announced after Duleep Trophy
But the selectors are yet to announce India’s squad for the series, According to ESPNCricinfo, the selectors will pick India’s squad for the series against Bangladesh after September 8 when the first round of Duleep Trophy matches will come to an end. As a result, the tournament can have a big impact on the selection of players as well.
The opening round of Duleep Trophy will see a no. of top-class India international players making their appearance. Some of those players are Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Sarfaraz Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh and KS Bharat.
Out of these players, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Kuldeep Yadav have high chances to be a part of the Playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh.
High competition for limited slots
The competition will be tough as most of India’s first-choice players are likely to be back amongst the contention. In India’s last Test series against England earlier this year, several players like KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja were unavailable due to various reasons.
Youngsters like Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Akash Deep made their debuts in that series and impressed with their performances which gave India the series win. However, with senior players back, it will be interesting to see whether these players find a place in the squad or not.
Some other players like Abhimanyu Easwaran, B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Saurabh Kumar, and R Sai Kishore will also be in action in the first round. These players have been around the India’s squad for a long time and will be aiming to stake their claim.
India’s upcoming home season
India’s home season will begin with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The two Tests of the series will be played in Chennai and Kanpur. The Men in Blue will play three T20Is against Bangladesh after the Test series, which will be played in Gwalior, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
Afterwards, Team India will play a three-match Test series against New Zealand which could also see Mohammed Shami’s much anticipated return to international cricket. India will then travel to South Africa for a four-match T20I series.
But all the eyes will be on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 which will begin at the end of November. Australia and India will play five Tests in the series with the Men in Blue looking to replicate their success on their previous two Test tours to Australia.
