That the city was known as Chittagong is only part of the story. It was a very different world when India last played Test cricket in Chattogram.
India arrived here in January 2010 with one of their great sides on a rampant run, and had a stand-in captain who couldn’t be more different to MS Dhoni. “Bangladesh are an ordinary side,” Virender Sehwag had famously said in the lead-up to the Test match back then, stunning a room full of journalists into disbelief. And there’s more. “They can’t beat India because they can’t take 20 wickets,” he was quick to add.
Bangladesh aren’t the same side anymore. Shakib Al Hasan, also the captain then, surely no longer thinks that a “draw will be good”, and for good reasons. Bangladesh have beaten the likes of West Indies, England and even Australia in the meantime, and are a force to reckon at home. A large part of that is down to how they aren’t about one player, which is qualitatively different to the era of Mohammad Ashraful.
INDIA TEAM :
Regular captain Rohit Sharma is out of the Chattogram Test with a finger injury and KL Rahul will lead the side in his absence. One of the first decisions that the stand-in skipper will be faced with is at the top, with regards to who will be his opening partner. Shubman Gill comes with promise and prior experience but uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran, now 27, has been biding his time for far too long and, more importantly, comes in scores of 141 and 157 for India A in the last couple of weeks.
Axar Patel is likely to come in as a like-for-like replacement for injured Ravindra Jadeja whereas Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav pick themselves in the absence of Bumrah and Shami. Will India go with Shardul Thakur’s all-round abilities on a flat pitch or include Saurabh Kumar as the third spinning option? Left-arm spinner Saurabh, like Abhimanyu, also comes in with relevant and recent experience on these shores and picked 15 wickets across two first-class games against Bangladesh A in the last couple of weeks. Jaydev Unadkat, who is still stuck in India, is obviously out of
India Squad:
Shubman Gill, KL Rahul(c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Srikar Bharat, Navdeep Saini, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Saurabh Kumar
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Probable XI:
- Shubman Gill,
- KL Rahul (c),
- Cheteshwar Pujara,
- Virat Kohli,
- Shreyas Iyer,
- Rishabh Pant(w),
- Axar Patel,
- Ravichandran Ashwin,
- Shardul Thakur,
- Umesh Yadav,
- Mohammed Siraj
STEND BY PLAYER:
- Kuldeep Yadav,
- Srikar Bharat,
- Navdeep Saini,
- Abhimanyu Easwaran,
- Saurabh Kumar
TYPE OF ARTICLE | CRICKET MATCH |
TEAM NAME | IND VS BAN |
MATCH LOCETION | CHATTOGRAM,BANGLADESH |
STADIUM NAME | ZAHUR AHEMED CHOWDHURY STADIUM |
TIME OF MATCH | 1st Test, December 14-18, 9:30 AM locaL TIME |
LIVE SCORE BORD | CLICK HERE |
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BANGLADESH TEAM
Bangladesh: Head coach Russell Domingo has confirmed that Bangladesh are “not going to risk” Taskin Ahmed, who is recovering from a back injury. Shakib Al Hasan, who was hit in the ribs by Umran Malik during the ODI series, continues to feel uncomfortable in his ribs although the scans he underwent again in Chattogram have come back clear. He is likely to put on that blazer in 23 degrees and lead Bangladesh at home once again.
Bangladesh Squad:
Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nurul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Zakir Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja
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- Mahmudul Hasan Joy,
- Zakir Hasan,
- Najmul Hossain Shanto,
- Mushfiqur Rahim,
- Shakib Al Hasan (c),
- Liton Das,
- Nurul Hasan (wk),
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz,
- Ebadot Hossain,
- Khaled Ahmed,
- Taijul Islam.
Probable XI:
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