File image of Rohit Sharma.© AFP
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will have some milestones to chase as he prepares to take on Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at Chennai from Thursday. The two-match series will kick off on September 19 in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The second long-format game will begin on September 27 in Kanpur. In his first Test assignment, head coach Gautam Gambhir will be keen on securing a series win.
The Indian skipper has enjoyed a fine run of form in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 so far, scoring 700 runs in nine matches and 16 innings at an average of 46.66, with three centuries and three fifties. His best score is 131. He is the 12th highest run-getter in the competition so far.
Rohit has two milestones to look for during the series. Getting to the first milestone will seal his legacy as the country's finest six-hitter. With 84 sixes in Tests, Rohit is at 11th place among top six-hitters in the world. He just needs eight more big hits to displace legendary Virender Sehwag (91) to become team's leading six-hitter in Test cricket.
England skipper Ben Stokes (131), former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Brendon McCullum (107) and iconic Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist (100) are the top three sixes in the world.
If Rohit goes on a big six-hitting spree in these two games, he could also become only the fourth overall and first Indian batter to have smashed 100 sixes in Tests.
The 'Hitman' is also nearing the half-centuries of centuries in international cricket. With 48 centuries in 483 matches, he is just two more tons away from reaching 50 international centuries. He will become only the third Indian batter to reach this milestone and overall 10th player to do so. Currently from India, only Sachin Tendulkar (100 centuries) and Virat Kohli (80 centuries) have crossed a half-century of centuries in international cricket.
For Rohit Sharma's side, this series against Bangladesh will be followed by New Zealand's tour of India for three Tests starting from October 16, and then the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia from November 22.
India's squad for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
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