India vs Bangladesh 2019: India's predicted playing XI for the first T20
A Virat Kohli-less Team India will be up against Bangladesh in the 3-match T20 series beginning on 3 November. Kohli has been playing non-stop cricket for a long time now and has been rested for the T20 series to manage his workload.
Also missing from the squad are Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Navdeep Saini, who are yet to achieve full fitness. In Kohli's absence, Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team that has an array of players who will have a chance to make an impression in the lead-up to next year's T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh have provided a strong challenge to India in the past, especially in the T20 format, and thus the new-look Indian side will have its task cut out. With so many options at their disposal, it will be interesting to see what kind of combination the Indian team management decide to field in the first T20 that will be played in Delhi.
Here is a look at India's predicted playing XI for the first T20.
Openers
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan
With an inexperienced batting line-up to follow, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will have the responsibility of providing a strong start to the side.
Rohit has been in the form of his life lately and will look to extend his purple patch against Bangladesh. And his opening partner Dhawan knows that he will have to keep churning out big runs in order to keep his place in the T20 side.
It will also be crucial how Rohit marshals his troops in the field and regulates a not-so-strong bowling attack; he will not have the luxury of bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to fall back on.
Also see – World Test Championship points table