India have brought back Rishabh Pant to the Test side for the first fixture of the two-game home series against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai. This is the first time Pant has been called up to the red-ball side since his horrific accident in December 2022.
Following a lengthy and arduous rehabilitation, Pant made a strong comeback in the IPL (446 runs in 13 matches) before being picked for the successful T20 World Cup campaign. He later played an ODI in Sri Lanka and even turned out in the just-concluded Duleep Trophy opener. Having last played in a Test just before his accident, he now returns right at the start of the Indian home summer, with Dhruv Jurel the other wicketkeeper in the side.
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.
Meanwhile, Bengal pacer Akash Deep won the race for the third seamer in the squad, joining up with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Akash, who made his Test debut against England in Ranchi this year, was impressive for India A in the Duleep Trophy game, picking nine wickets – including a fifer. While Mukesh Kumar, who has three Test caps to his name, missed the cut, India named uncapped left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal in the 16. Besides Mukesh, the trio of Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar and KS Bharat have also lost their spots after featuring in the England series.
In the middle-order, India have KL Rahul back, alongside Sarfaraz Khan, who made a good impression in his debut series against England with three 50-plus scores in six innings. Rahul missed four of the five-Test series against England – India’s last red-ball assignment earlier this year – due to a quadriceps injury. As expected, India also have the spin quartet of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to pick from.
After the series opener in Chennai, the teams will head to Kanpur for the second fixture from September 27. The two teams will then play out three T20Is between October 6 and 12.
