After the conclusion of the ongoing two-match Test series, the second game of which kicked off at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Friday (September 27), the Indian men’s cricket team will face Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series. The series opener is scheduled to take place at the newly constructed New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior on October 6, and the next T20Is will be played on October 9 and 12 in Delhi and Hyderabad, respectively.
T20 World Cup 2024 winners India hammered Sri Lanka 3-0 in the last shortest format series played in July 2024, and the world No. 1 side will hope to come up with a big show in front of home fans as well.
Suryakumar Yadav is fit and is all set to lead India in the last white-ball series of this year on Indian soil. The 34-year-old Mumbai batter suffered an injury during the Buchi Babu Trophy match in August, after which he missed the first two rounds of the Duleep Trophy 2024. But after proving his fitness and playing in the third match for India B, Surya has all but confirmed his selection.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is also expected to be part of the T20I series after being out of action for almost two months now. The 30-year-old cricketer from Baroda missed the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month due to personal reasons.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed, and Prasidh Krishna are named in the Rest of India (ROI) squad for the Irani Cup 2024 match against Ranji Trophy 2023-24 winners Mumbai in Lucknow from October 1 to 5, because of which it is highly unlikely that they will feature in the T20I series, which starts on October 6.
In Gaikwad and Ishan’s absence, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are almost certain to get picked as opener and wicketkeeper, respectively, and it will be interesting to see if Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are also called up for the shortest format assignment. It was reported last week that Gill is likely to be rested for the three T20Is as part of workload management.
Abhishek, who was ignored for Sri Lanka T20Is, is expected to play as an opener, and the team is also set to feature the likes of Riyan Parag, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Avesh Khan, and Washington Sundar, who impressed with their performances in the Duleep Trophy 2024. The absence of Parag, Arshdeep, and Rana from the ROI squad was a clear indication that they are being considered for a place in India’s T20I squad.
T20 World Cup 2024 winners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel could feature in T20I series, but the same can’t be said about Yuzvendra Chahal, who hasn’t played a match for India since August 2023. If Axar and Kuldeep are also rested, keeping the busy season ahead in mind, then former world No. 1 T20I bowler Ravi Bishnoi will lead India’s spin attack and have Sundar for support.
T20I specialist Rinku Singh is set to play as a finisher, whereas Shivam Dube and Nitish Reddy are likely to be part of the squad as pace-bowling all-rounders. SRH cricketer Nitish was picked in India’s squad for the T20I series against Zimbabwe in July 2024, but he missed the tour due to injury.
India’s likely squad for T20I series against Bangladesh: Abhishek Sharma, Yashavi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Nitish Reddy
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