File photo of Sarfaraz Khan (L) and Rohit Sharma.© AFP
Team India will be back in action after 45 days as the Rohit Sharma-led side faces Bangladesh in the first Test of a two-match series, starting on Thursday in Chennai. This will be Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as head coach of the Indian team, having first taken charge during the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. On the eve of the match, Gambhir gave a press conference where he hinted about the team's combination in the series opener.
Without going into details, Gambhir suggested that youngsters Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel might have to wait a bit to get playing time. He all but confirmed that the returning Rishabh Pant and veteran batter KL Rahul would be preferred in the middle-order.
"We don't drop anyone. We just pick the players who fit the XI. We believe in selecting the XI. Jurel is a phenomenal player when Pant is coming in, sometimes people have to wait. Same with Sarfaraz. There will be opportunities and you have to wait," Gambhir said in a press conference on the eve of the start of the 1st Test.
Gambhir also highlighted the importance of having good equation with the senior members of the team, which is a clear indication that he is not ready to make a bold move by dropping a Test cricket veteran from the team.
"These are early days. Taking over as head coach of the Indian team is a completely different challenge. I've never been a head coach before, but having experienced players like Rohit, Virat, Ashwin, Bumrah, and Jadeja can make things easier," he added.
Even though the match will be played on a red soil track, which is more helpful for the pacers, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav is likely to get the nod ahead of third pacer, considering Bangladesh's inabilty to tackle spinners.
As far India's top-order is concerned, the quartet of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli is one of the deadliest in the world.
India's predicted XI vs Bangladesh (1st Test)
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj.