India’s wicket-keeper bat Rishabh Pant has made a return to the Test team as he has been picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel for the first match against Bangladesh. Yash Dayal, the left-arm seamer from Uttar Pradesh, has also earned his maiden Test call-up.
Pant last featured in a Test match against Bangladesh, back in December 2022 but afterwards suffered multiple serious injuries in a horrific car accident.
The left-hander also scored a typical Pant knock of 47-ball 61 in the second innings of the Duleep trophy clash against India A in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Akash Deep, who made his Test debut against England in Ranchi, has also been included in the Test squad. Deep impressed in the Duleep trophy clash, returning with nine wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
Dayal, on the other hand, picked four wickets in the match, which India B won by 76 runs. Sarfaraz Khan, who made his Test debut against England, has also been retained in the squad along with Dhruv Jurel.
The opening Test match of the series will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai from September 19. The two teams will then travel to Kanpur for the second Test, which will kick off from September 27.
The two sub-continent teams will also play a three-match T20I series. Bangladesh will be a confident unit after stunning Pakistan by 2-0 and the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team will be determined to prove their mettle against the hosts.
Meanwhile, this will be the first Test assignment for India’s new head coach, Gautam Gambhir.
India squad for first Test: 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, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
