The Board of Control for Cricket of India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, scheduled to begin on September 19 at the Chepauk in Chennai. Yash Dayal has received a maiden call-up to the squad, while Rishabh Pant has returned and is set to play his first Test since December 2022.
Dayal had taken four wickets while playing his trade for India B in the Duleep Trophy in their 76-run win over India A, including three in the their opening match. Dayal is among the four pacers in the squad other than Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah as Mohammed Shami continues to recover from his injury.
Pant, who returned to the Indian side in the T20 World Cup 2024 after spending over a year on the sidelines due to the near-fatal accident, is likely to pip Dhruv Jurel for the wicket-keeper's spot. Pant played a vital innings of 61 for India B in their commanding win over India A. KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan also delivered standout performances in the Duleep Trophy fixture between India A and India B, but only one of them can play in the XI.
The spin quartet remains unchanged from the previous home series against England.
Squad for the first Test against Bangladesh:
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, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
The first Test is from September 19 - September 23 in Chennai, while the second is from September 27 - October 1 in Kanpur.
