Indian squad for Bangladesh tour announced; Harbhajan Singh recalled to Test side
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian Test and ODI squads for their upcoming series against Bangladesh. Virat Kohli will captain the Test side while MS Dhoni will lead the ODI side after having announced his Test retirement in December last year.
There were reports earlier that several senior players could be rested for the tour, but the selectors have decided to pick all the first-choice players available against a Bangladesh outfit that has been in impressive form in recent months. Mohammed Shami is a notable absentee from both the squads owing to a knee injury that has also kept him out of the ongoing IPL.
#TeamIndia Test: Virat (C), Vijay, Shikhar, KL Rahul, Pujara, Rahane, Rohit, Saha, Ashwin, Harbhajan, Karn, Bhuvi, Umesh, Varun, Ishant
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 20, 2015
#TeamIndia ODIs for B'desh: MSD (C), Rohit, Rahane, Shikhar, Virat, Raina, Rayudu, Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar, Bhuvi, Umesh, Mohit, Binny, Dhawal
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 20, 2015
Harbhajan Singh has earned a recall to the Test side despite last playing for India more than a couple of years ago and not having a particularly great domestic season for Punjab. Perhaps, the palpable lack of experience in the Indian spin department coupled with the plethora of left-handed batsmen in the Bangladesh line-up has worked in his favour. After all, he has taken a colossal 413 wickets from 101 Tests for his country.
Harbhajan’s inclusion has meant that there is no place for Ravindra Jadeja, whose bowling has lacked penetration to get top quality batsmen out in recent times.
The ODI squad sees only change from the one that was there at the World Cup, with seamer Dhawal Kulkarni coming in for the injured Shami. Considering the fact that India made the semifinals of the marquee event, it is understandable that the selectors have given these players an opportunity to build on that rather than look to experiment too much.