π Bangladesh tour of India 2024: 1st T20 on October 6th in Gwalior at 7pm ISTπ
Gwalior takes centre stage as youthful India prepare for experienced Bangladesh
Harshit Rana or Mayank Yadav is likely to make his international debut for India.
A T20I series in the middle of a Test season can be a hard sell but both India and Bangladesh will have their own priorities in the three-match series starting in Gwalior on Sunday. While India have rested their key players - and will additionally be without Shivam Dube who was ruled out with injury on Saturday* - the ones on the fringes will look to establish themselves as back-ups and will also be keen to increase their IPL value.
Suryakumar Yadav leads a side that's less experienced than Bangladesh in T20Is, but his players are more skilled and versatile than Bangladesh's in the format. Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh are among the experienced players in India's side, but even the ones with less than ten T20I caps are stars. Newcomers Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are the uncapped players, while Abhishek Sharma, who made his debut against Zimbabwe in July, has a chance to add to his five T20I caps.
The home side are also without most of their first-choice fast bowlers, which could open up debuts for Mayank Yadav, who hit 150kph for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and Harshit, who won IPL 2024 with Kolkata Knight Riders. Hardik offers them seam-bowling support while Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and the returning Varun Chakravarthy make up the spin group.
As for Bangladesh, who don't play enough T20Is, this is a huge opportunity. From developing their game against a strong opposition, to having an outside chance of being picked in the IPL, there will be excitement in the visitors' camp.
The likes of Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan, all of whom have at least fifty T20Is under their belt, have to put their act together if Bangladesh are to beat India. Even relative newcomers like Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain and Tanzid Hasan have growing reputations. All of this is vital when they know who is no longer in their line-up.
Shakib Al Hasan, who is arguably Bangladesh's greatest cricketer, has announced his retirement from Tests and T20Is.
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