Team India Gautam Gambhir has dropped a major hint regarding their playing 11 for the 1st Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, scheduled to get underway on September 19 (Thursday). Gambhir was interacting with the reporters at a pre-match press conference where he confirmed that KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant would be getting a go ahead of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in the series opener.
"We don't drop anyone. We just pick the players who fit the XI. Jurel is a phenomenal player, but when Pant is coming in, sometimes people have to wait. Same with Sarfaraz. There will be opportunities, but you have to wait," Gambhir said.
Team India Set To Play 10 Test Matches In The Season Ahead
It's going to be a Test-heavy Indian cricket season starting with the Bangladesh series. After the Chennai Test, the action will move to Kanpur where the second Test will be played from September 27. The Bangladesh Test series will be followed by three more Tests at home against New Zealand before they fly to Australia for a five-match marathon Test series.
Despite Chennai reportedly having a red-ball surface, India are likely to have a three-two spin attack with a spin trio in the mix and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to share the fast bowling load. The combination means the team's T20 World Cup 2024 hero Axar Patel will be benched.
ALSO READ | IND vs BAN: Rohit Sharma On The Cusp Of Historic Record, Could Join Tendulkar, Kohli In Elite Group
India vs Bangladesh, Team India's Probabe Playing 11 for 1st Test
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah