India’s full-time captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the second Test match. Rohit had missed the first Test at Chhatogram due to a thumb injury, which he suffered in the second ODI against Bangladesh. It has been understood that Rohit is yet to fully recover from his injury.
Thus, keeping in mind the upcoming crucial fixtures of the team, the selectors and the BCCI have decided not to risk Rohit at this particular stage. KL Rahul will continue to lead the team in Rohit’s absence.
India had won the first Test match against the Tigers by a huge margin of 188 runs and this was Rahul’s first win as India’s Test captain.
However, Rohit’s absence solves India’s opening selection dilemma as Shubman Gill had scored a fine hundred in the second innings. This was Gill’s maiden Test century and he would want to carry the good show. Ergo, India is expected to play the same team against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, it is expected that Rohit Sharma will be fit for the white ball series against Sri Lanka, which will begin on January 3.
Rohit suffered a blow to his thumb while fielding in the slips in the second ODI. However, the veteran came out to bat and scored a valiant knock of 50 runs to give a glimmer of hope to his team but could not get them across the line.
Earlier, Rohit was rested for the New Zealand tour after India was knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the semifinal by England.
The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka from Thursday.
India’s updated squad for Bangladesh Tests: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.
