3 Indian pacers who can make their Test debut against Bangladesh ft. Arshdeep Singh
Team India's next red-ball assignment will be the two-match series against Bangladesh, which starts on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The series will also mark new head coach Gautam Gambhir's first assignment in Tests.
The Men in Blue are currently well-placed at the top of the ICC World Test Championship points table. They have won six, lost two, and one draw in nine games and have a win percentage of 68.52. The management will look to strengthen their position at the top of the standings in the Test series against the Bangla Tigers.
According to a PTI report, ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah will remain out of the side, as management wants him to be fully fit for the Australian series Down Under later this year.
“In the case of Bumrah, he knows his body the best and it will be up to him if he wants to play in the Tests against Bangladesh," an anonymous BCCI source was quoted by PTI via News18.
"The team management and selectors are clear that India needs a 120 percent fit Jasprit Bumrah for all five Tests against Australia Down Under. Before that, there is New Zealand in India, where he will probably play and get ready for the sterner tests,” he added.
Bumrah's new-ball partner Mohammed Shami, who has been on the sidelines since the 2023 ODI World Cup, has not fully recovered. Thus, he was left out of the Duleep Trophy squads and will also miss the Test series next month in all likelihood.
The management aims to unleash some fresh faces against Bangladesh to bolster their pace attack and prepare for the series to follow against New Zealand and Australia.
On that note, let's take a look at three pacers who could make their Test debut against Bangladesh.
#1 Arshdeep Singh
The Punjab-born cricketer is the front-runner to get into the Test side against Bangladesh. According to reports, former head coach Rahul Dravid had a plan in place for Arshdeep Singh and thus, he was asked to play county cricket.
After his immense success in white-ball cricket, Arshdeep is likely to get rewarded with a Test call-up. With Bumrah, Shami, and Mohammed Siraj all right-handers, the management plans to throw a left-arm seamer in the mix to add some variations in the pace attack. This is where Arshdeep gets the nod ahead of others.
The 25-year-old has played 16 first-class games so far and has picked up 49 wickets with the best figures of 5/48. Although the sample size is very small, Arshdeep has shown traits of succeeding at the highest level.
#2 Khaleel Ahmed
Being a left-arm fast bowler, Khaleel Ahmed is also in the running for a place in the squad for the Bangladesh Test. Despite being a bit inconsistent, the 26-year-old can swing the ball both ways and can be a tricky customer for opposition batters given his height.
Khaleel has already made his debut for India in ODIs and T20Is but is yet to receive the Test cap.
Although Khaleel has played only 12 first-class matches, he has fair experience of going up against international players in the IPL. It will be a great learning curve if he manages to sneak into the playing XI against the neighboring nation.
#3 Harshit Rana
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer had a breakthrough season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year. He scalped 19 wickets in 13 games at an average of just over 20 and was one of the key contributors in Kolkata's title-winning season.
Harshit Rana was immediately fast-tracked into the Indian team and was part of the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. Although he didn't feature in any matches, it is evident that new head coach Gambhir, who was previously with KKR, is an admirer of Rana.
Moreover, the Delhi-born cricketer is a natural swing bowler, which makes him an ideal candidate for red-ball cricket. He has picked up 28 wickets in seven matches and could be a fine addition to India's Test roaster.