India announced their T20I squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh on Saturday (September 28). Here are the major talking points around the squad.
India's squad for Bangladesh T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav
Mayank Yadav called up, part of inexperienced fast bowling attack
Tearaway speedster Mayank Yadav who made waves with his pace during IPL 2024 has received a maiden India call-up after having recovered from an injury he suffered mid-season during the IPL. Along with Mayank in the fast bowling department are left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and KKR quick Harshit Rana. Like Mayank, Rana is yet to play for India, making India's seam attack consist of two uncapped players out of a total of three.
There are other seam-bowling options in the squad, however, including Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. But none of them are in the team for their fast bowling skills alone.
Varun Chakravarthy recalled, no Yuzvendra Chahal
KKR spinner Charkavarthy who was fast-tracked into the Indian T20I side during the 2021 T20 World Cup before being discarded with similar swiftness, has earned a recall on the back of two good IPL seasons where he picked 20 and 21 wickets respectively. Kuldeep Yadav, despite not playing in either of the two Bangladesh Tests, has been rested, and so has Axar Patel. Despite the absence of first-choice spinners, however, Yuzvendra Chahal has not found a spot, signalling a potential end of the road for his international career.
Unprecedented depth in seam-bowling all-rounders
The 15-member squad has as many as four seam-bowling all-round options. Hardik Pandya will lead the pack, with Dube and uncapped SRH youngster Reddy for company. It might be a bit of a stretch to call Rana an all-rounder in white-ball formats given his batting record of 68 runs in 14 List A games and two runs in 25 T20s. But he does boast of a batting average of 41 in first-class cricket having scored a hundred and a fifty, and can wield the long handle.
This is a profile India have historically struggled with. With so many options at their disposal now, they would want to try them out in various situations and test their fitness for the international level.
Only one specialist opener
Abhishek Sharma, who missed out on selection for the Sri Lanka tour, is the only specialist spinner in the squad for the Bangladesh T20Is. Neither Shubman Gill, nor Yashasvi Jaiswal are there, presumably rested in between the hectic Test season. Among the batting options in the squad, Sanju Samson has the most experience at the top of the order in T20s, and is all but certain to partner Abhishek as an opener, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav occupying his usual No.3 spot.
No room for Ishan Kishan even with Pant rested
India have gone back to Jitesh Sharma as the backup wicketkeeper for the Bangladesh T20Is despite resting Rishabh Pant from the series. It is expected that Samson, who has been the next in line after Pant, will take the gloves (him being the only other opening option apart from Abhishek also helps his cause) in his absence, with Jitesh potentially coming in late in the series or maybe not coming in at all.
The selectors had the opportunity of going back to Ishan Kishan, who is back playing domestic cricket and has already hit a hundred in his first-class return. However, he has been ignored, with no explanation on whether his lack of a central contract is a factor behind his non-selection. Kishan last played T20Is for India in November last year.
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