India vs Bangladesh Test series preview: How young Indian talent performs will be the most exciting part in this series

Bangladesh become a completely different side when they play at home. Don’t they? They mean business in their home conditions as shown in the recently-concluded ODI series which the Tigers clinched 2-1. Team India, hit by a bunch of injuries, lost two back-to-back matches before Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli and bowlers produced the perfect game in the final ODI to run over the hosts.

We head to the Tests now, where India should look to dominate because this is the format in which they have been more successful than others of late. Bangladesh may not look as strong as India on paper but they are playing at home and they cannot be taken lightly.

Watching India’s youngsters progress in Test cricket will be interesting

Team India start the two-match Test series on the back foot after skipper Rohit Sharma got ruled out due to a thumb injury. The visitors are already short of two quality pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Their absence, however, presents an opportunity to next set of matchwinners in Indian team. All eyes will be on KL Rahul as he aims to prove his worth as Test match captain. Great to see Cheteshwar Pujara getting to be the vice-captain of the Indian team.

With Rohit not there, the batting is depleted and this provides an opportunity to Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill to rise and shine. Both have shown glimpses of greatness in the little time they have got in whites but with Australia series at home not too far away, they will be looking to continue scoring runs and keep their respective places safe. Rishabh Pant is another man who will be looking to make a strong comeback after a lull period in the white-ball formats. This is the format he enjoys the most. In Bangladesh, his wicketkeeping skills will be tested too.

Another reason to watch the Test series is Virat Kohli, who enjoys this format the most. Pujara, the specialist red-ball player, is back and watching him, on song, is a delight for the eyes. The India batting lineup is a nice mix of youth and experience.

Then the bowling unit is quite young too with Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini. Umesh definitely has played more games than the other two combined. He brings the experience while Siraj and Saini will bring young energy. It would be interesting to see Saini’s fitness levels as he is coming back after recovering from an injury.

I read a lot about Jaydev Unadkat doing so well in domestic cricket and as a result of his hard work, he has received a call with Shami getting ruled out, making a comeback after 12 years. Unadkat had tweeted earlier that he needed one more chance to make a name for himself in the Tests. He has waited a long time and now he has that same chance. I would be happy if he gets picked as he also gives you a little variation in the pace attack with his left-arm bowling.

The conditions in Bangladesh are different. The pitches will be on slower side. Someone like a Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin will be interesting to watch. It is tough to drop Axar Patel from the playing 11 as well. India have got this beautiful problem for a long time now. But the final XI will be made looking at the pitch and what the best combinations could be. So, you might even have three spinners playing in the first Test.

Coming to Bangladesh, I think they were really good in the ODIs. To beat India in two close games reflected that the Tigers have learnt the art of finishing games now. But they got switched off after two ODI wins and with the series sealed, they became lenient and got crushed in the third ODI.

In the longest format though they will be a little nervous around their batting. When I look at Bangladesh and their batting lineup, it does not really change. They are pretty much the same side across formats.

The hosts will largely rely on a good and quality top order of theirs. There are some question marks on couple of their senior players and their Test future. It would be interesting to see how they go about their business in these Tests. A lot is at stake here for these older Bangladeshi players. It is time for them to raise their hands and say we can still go on in this format.

But I believe that Bangladesh players should be pumped up to play these Tests. India are a topquality side across formats and especially in this version, they have been phenomenal for the past few years. To do well against the big Neighbours in the Tests would be quite a big achievement. The fact that these two sides rarely meet each other in this format should pump up the Bangladesh team.

So, largely two things interest me in this Test series. One, how the young players in Indian team perform and two, how Bangladesh respond to a tough challenge like India on their home soil, keeping in mind the size of the challenge and benefit of playing at home. Hoping for a tough fight.