Sports Desk:

Wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant returned to the Test squad for the first time since December 2022 as India named a strong 16-member team for the Chennai Test against Bangladesh. The Test will be commenced on 19 September.

Meanwhile, former skipper Virat Kohli made a comeback after having missed the five-Test home series against England earlier this year for having taken a break for the birth of his second child.

Having played in the second and final Test against Bangladesh at Mirpur in December 2022 Pant had met with the accident a few days later that saw him being out of cricket for nearly 20 months. He made his return to cricket only in IPL this year.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not included in the squad but uncapped left-arm Uttar Pradesh fast bowler Yash Dayal received his maiden Test call-up.

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was last seen in the national side during the T20 World Cup, returned to the squad.

Dayal has played 24 first-class matches for Uttar Pradesh since his debut in 2018, taking 76 wickets.

KL Rahul, who suffered a right quadriceps injury after the first Test against England at Hyderabad, also returned to the Test side. He scored 37 and a valiant 57 for India A against India B in the Duleep Trophy contest in Bengaluru which concluded on Sunday.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who produced robust performances against England including match-winning knocks of 90 and 39 not out in the Ranchi Test, retained his place.

While Patidar was short of runs in the three Tests he played against England, Padikkal scored a composed 65 on debut at Dharamsala but had to make way with Kohli returning and Sarfaraz retaining his place.

Right-arm Bengal pacer Akash Deep, who made his Test debut against England at Ranchi with an impressive three-wicket burst, took nine wickets in the Duleep Trophy match for India A against India B in Bengaluru.

India’s long Test season begins with the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh in Chennai.

The second Test of the series will be played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27 to October 1.

India and Bangladesh have played 13 Tests so far in which the former has won 11 times while two have ended in draws.

Bangladesh will enter this series having recorded a historic 2-0 win over Pakistan in the opponent’s backyard whereas it will be India’s first Test assignment since beating England 4-1 in January-March earlier this year.

India 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), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.