India, which has been plagued by injuries, is attempting to win crucial test points against Bangladesh

India will play Bangladesh in the first of two Tests beginning on Wednesday. They are seeking to maintain their undefeated record against Bangladesh as well as bulldoze the hosts in order to earn some much-needed ICC Championship points.

However, the visitors are dealing with a number of injury concerns, including the absence of their captain Rohit Sharma for at least the first match in Chittagong, as well as the absence of their fast bowler Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja from the series.

A further indication of India’s white-ball frailties, Bangladesh’s victory in the one-day series, which they won 2-1, will further boost their spirits as they prepare to host the 50-over World Cup the following year.

The games will each last for five days and are a part of the ICC World Test Championship. With six victories out of a possible 12, India is currently in fourth place, after Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

The next cycle will begin in July 2021 and go through June 2023. It will feature the top nine Test teams, each of which will compete in a total of six series, including three series at their own stadium and three series on the road.

The top two finishers will face off against one another in the championship match at the Oval in London. With only one victory and one tie out of their 10 matches, Bangladesh are in last place. In addition, they have not won a Test match on their own turf since February of 2020, and they have never been victorious against India in any of the Tests played elsewhere in the world.

In the second one-day international, Rohit sustained an injury to his thumb, and the Indian cricket board announced on Sunday that they will make a decision regarding his ability to play in the second test in Dhaka at a later time.

Cheteshwar Pujara will serve as KL Rahul’s deputy for the opening test match of the series. Rahul will lead the squad. Abhimanyu Easwaran, a batsman who has never earned a cap, has been selected to replace Rohit.

Navdeep Saini, a right-arm fast, and Saurabh Kumar, a left-arm spinner, have been chosen by the national selectors to replace Shami (who has a shoulder injury) and Jadeja, respectively (knee). Jaydev Unadkat, a left-arm fast bowler who appeared in his one and only Test match in 2010, has also been selected to the 17-person team.

Rahul stated that there are a few injury concerns, but that this opens the door for chance for other individuals.

Tamim Iqbal, the opener for Bangladesh, was unable to recuperate from a groyne injury in time to play in the first test, therefore he will not be participating.

The uncapped batsman Zakir Hasan, who excelled in the recent shadow Test series against India A, has been called up to replace Tamim for the first Test. India A was the opponent in that series.

“My impression is that most people in the country prefer to watch white-ball cricket. We have had a great deal of success playing one-day international cricket at home, “remarked Shane McDermott, who coaches the fielding position.

However, he continued by saying that playing in tests was a “tough,” despite the fact that “overall attitude has largely improved.”

Bangladesh: Mahmudul Hasan, Najmul Hossain, Mominul Haque, Yasir Ali, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (Capt), Liton Das, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Zakir Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Anamul Haque.

India: KL Rahul (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat