On Thursday, India will face Bangladesh in the second and final Test (December 21). India easily defeated the hosts by 188 runs and now has momentum heading into the Dhaka Test. Bangladesh would like to make a comeback in the second Test after planning to make major changes in the squad. KL Rahul will captain India because Rohit Sharma is out with a finger injury. Meanwhile, Taskin Ahmed’s return will help Bangladesh. Nasum is likely to debut for the hosts which can give the Bengal Tigers a stronghold in the second test.
Because of South Africa’s loss to Australia, India has climbed to second place in the WTC points table. If the KL Rahul-led side wins the second Test, they will cement their number two ranking and whitewash Bangladesh. The hosts are expected to use the same batting lineup.
In terms of the playing XI, given that Rohit Sharma and Navdeep Saini will be unavailable for selection, Team India will once again rely on KL Rahul’s captaincy. As witnessed in the first test match of this ongoing series, Virat Kohli’s experienced tactics helped KL Rahul to do his leadership job with ease.
Rishabh Pant, who impressed in the first Test, will be back behind the stumps, with Shreyas Iyer assisting the old friend in the middle order. Team India might bring in Jaydev Unadkat, who couldn’t reach Bangladesh for the 1st Test match, citing Visa issues. Have been called up after 12 years, team India and management will consider him to be in the playing XI. As all-rounders, the three spinners – Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ashwin – could continue to dominate. Umesh Yadav is likely to be benched in favour of Unadkat, who will assist the in-form Mohammed Siraj.
Team India needs to grab a whitewash win to keep the hopes of WTC Finals alive.
India Squad: KL Rahul(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Saurabh Kumar, Srikar Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran
