India will face Bangladesh in the first T20I of the three-match series on Sunday (October 4). The series opener is scheduled to take place at New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. Suryakumar Yadav will lead in the shortest format series, and Bangladesh will play under the leadership of Najmul Hossain Shanto. In the absence of many first-team players, Sanju Samson is all set to open for India in the first T20I along with Abhishek Sharma, who, despite scoring a century in his second T20I for India, was ignored for the three-match series against Sri Lanka in July 2024.
Captain Suryakumar is expected to come out and bat at his preferred No. 3 position, and Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag, who made his India debut in July, will be seen in action at No. 4. Apart from his batting, the Rajasthan Royals star will be a key player for India with his spin bowling as well.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is the most experienced player in the squad, and his experience in the middle overs with both and ball will play a big part in the outcome of the series. While he is a confirmed selection in playing XI, Shivam Dube will face stiff competition from Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
21-year-old Nitish, who won the Emerging Player of the Season award in IPL 2024, is a pace-bowling all-rounder like Dube and Pandya and is expected to make his India debut in the upcoming series.
Rinku Singh, who has been a regular member of India’s T20I squad for quite some time now, will be the finisher for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side. Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi are expected to get preference over Varun Chakravarthy for the first T20I as two spinners. Chakravarthy, who last played for India in November 2021, is back in the Indian team after doing well for KKR in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh will lead India’s pace attack, and it will be interesting to see who out of Harshit Rana and Mayank Yadav gets a chance to make a debut in the series opener. While Rana has travelled with the Indian team in the past as well, Mayank has earned his maiden call-up for the T20I series. The Delhi-based pacer was part of LSG in IPL 2024, and he made headlines for his express pace.
India’s likely playing XI for 1st T20I against Bangladesh: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.
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