Rishabh Pant is all set to make his return to Indian Test cricket in the upcoming Bangladesh Tests. As per reports in Cricbuzz, it has been learnt that Rajat Patidar will be dropped from the Indian squad for the next two games, which will be part of the ICC World Test Championship.
The Indian national cricket team is all set to take on Bangladesh in the two-match Test series. The series will begin on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Cricbuzz reports that the team will announce the squad for the series on Monday, September 9.
Reports also indicate that Rishabh Pant will return to the team after a 15-month gap following a serious car accident in late 2022. He made his comeback to the team in other formats but so far he has not played his best format for the Indian National Cricket Team where he has played some impressive knocks.
It is unclear whether Rishabh Pant will be in the starting XI or not.
Reports claimed that while Rishabh Pant will be picked in the squad, there is no clarity on whether he will be in the starting XI.
The wicketkeeper-batsman will face competition from Dhruv Jurel, who impressed many with his performances in the England Tests. Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir will decide whether Pant is part of the starting XI.
Rishabh Pant recently made his return to red-ball cricket recently in the first round of the 2025 Duleep Trophy. The wicketkeeper-batsman played a whirlwind knock of 61 runs in the second innings which helped India B take a lead of over 200 runs and win the game to bag an important 6 points in the tournament.
Rishabh Flying Pants! ✈️
A great catch to send off Avesh Khan 👌#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
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— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 8, 2024
Reports claimed that the Indian squad for the Test series is unlikely to see any major changes, barring a few. Reports suggest that the team will drop batsman Rajat Patidar. He failed to impress many with his performances in the England Test series where he failed to score a fifty.
Apart from the development related to Rishabh Pant and Rajat Patidar, it is also learnt that Devdutt Padikkal, who impressed with a solid 65 in the Dharamsala Test along with a recent fifty in the Duleep Trophy, is likely to be picked as a batsman alongside Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Reports added that there could be a tie between Sarfaraz Khan and KL Rahul in the squad.
Reports suggest that Musheer Khan, the young batsman, will not be part of the Tests against Bangladesh. The selectors are likely to include him in the India A squad before considering him for the senior international team. He played a magnificent innings of 181 runs in the Duleep Trophy under pressure.
🙌
Akash Deep’s 43 (42) wrestling match comes to an end when he is eliminated by a quick-reacting Musheer Khan.
India B beat India A by 76 runs. A fantastic win 👏#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
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— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 8, 2024
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling attack, while Mohammed Siraj will also be there. Akash Deep impressed by taking nine wickets for India A against India B in the Duleep Trophy, and the selectors will expect him to be the third spinner in the Indian team for the two-match Test series.
The bowling quartet of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are also likely to retain their places in the team. Reports stated that the team has instructed the players to join the camp in Chennai on September 12. Additionally, new bowling coach Morne Morkel will also join the team.