India will be hosting Bangladesh for a two-match test series and 3 T20Is. The Bangla Tigers are in great form as they clean-sweep Pakistan in Pakistan. They won the Test series 2-0. However, beating India in India is nearly impossible with the quality of cricketers they possess and their spin trio in the subcontinent is a very lethal bowling attack.
The Men in Blue last lost a test series back in 2012 since then they have yet to be beaten by any side. Not even teams like Australia and England have been able to beat them at home. Najmul Hossain Shanto’s side has never won a series in the red-ball format against the Blues. They will look to do something different keeping the form and consistency in mind. The squad for the forthcoming series has already been announced.
Players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul made a return, some players who were part of the England Tests were dropped from the team. Some players should have been part of the side but did not even feature in the 15-man squad. In the article, we take a look at some of the cricketers who should have been part of the squad but were not included.
Here are the top 3 players who missed out on the squad against Bangladesh
3. Mukesh Kumar
The Bengal pacer was in the squad for many series for the nation. He went to West Indies, and South Africa and then played his last test against England. However, he performed decently whenever given the chance. But Mukesh Kumar was not included in the squad despite being featured in the 15-man squad for most series played since last year.
2. Devdutt Padikkal
The Karnataka-born opener was tried only in one test against India’s last series against England. Padikkal replaced Kohli who was out of the series and bat at No. 4. The Southpaw scored 65 runs from 103 balls. However, scoring a fifty could not cement a place in the 16-member squad announced for the first Test against Bangladesh.
1. Mohammed Shami
Shami has always been overlooked by the Indian team. But whenever he has taken on the field he has gone to steal the limelight for the side. Shami has just recovered from the toe injury he suffered during the ODI World Cup 2023. He has not played any competitive matches. However, the quality he possesses must not be overlooked. The selectors have thought to go with some other pacers and try him later after he returns to domestic cricket.
Here’s the 16-man squad for India for the 1st Test:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
