India Vs Bangladesh 2024 1st Test Predicted 11: Toss Up Between KL Rahul And Sarfaraz Khan For Chennai Clash

Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have plenty of headaches to finalise their playing 11 for the first Test against Bangladesh beginning at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on September 19. The two major selection issues are going to be the 5th batter’s spot and the third spinner’s choice.

Openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal along with batters Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli apart from wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant pick themselves. But the fifth batter’s position will be a battle between the experienced KL Rahul and young gun Sarfaraz Khan.

Rahul’s last few Test innings include a brilliant 101 against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023 as well as 86 against England at Hyderabad in January this year. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has only been sidelined from Test cricket due to injury.

Mumbai batter Sarfaraz, on the other hand, had an impressive start to his Test career – replacing injured KL Rahul by scoring 200 runs from his first 3 Tests at an average of 50 with three fifties to his name. Rahul, who is 32 years of age, averages a modest 34.08 from his 50 Tests till date with 2,863 runs with 8 centuries and 14 fifties to his name.

Sarfaraz Khan smashed 5 consecutive fours in an over against Akash Deep. pic.twitter.com/cBG8OZIvKi

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 7, 2024

It will be interesting to see if the Indian team management opt for experience of Rahul or youthful exuberance of Sarfaraz for the first Test against Bangladesh. According to PTI news agency, the Indian selectors and team management’s ultimate goal is the five-match Test series against Australia for ‘Border Gavaskar Trophy’ later this year. Rahul’s wealth of experience in Test cricket gives him an advantage over Sarfaraz in this aspect.

“For people on the outside, they don’t understand how a team works and what are the systems in place. In his last three Test matches, KL scored a century in South Africa, one of the best Test knocks in recent times and 86 at Hyderabad in the last Test he played before injury. He was not dropped but got injured. So, he is fit and available, scored a fifty in Duleep, got match time and he will start,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

Sarfaraz, a domestic giant for Mumbai, had a very impressive debut with twin half-centuries on debut against England at Rajkot and another fifty against the same opposition at Dharamsala.

“Sarfaraz has done everything right and mind it, if there is an injury anywhere, he will just walk in but Rahul’s experience is irreplaceable. And the team management is not just looking at Bangladesh, they are looking at Australia where previous experience matters,” the BCCI source added.

The same theory of continuity will also be applicable in the Rishabh Pant vs Dhruv Jurel case. Jurel is a fine talent and did well in the England series but Pant is an exceptional Test player. Jurel will have to wait for his chance.

The only slot where there could be some close competition is the third spinner’s position where chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is pitted against Axar Patel, who has also had a decent Test career so far.

In the Duleep Trophy first round matches, Axar and Kuldeep had contrasting performances for their respective sides. While Axar took three wickets apart from scoring 86 on a green top at Anantapur, Kuldeep was off form and unable to trouble the talented Musheer Khan and tailender Navdeep Saini.

But the Delhi Capitals chinaman bowler has had success against Bangladesh in the 2022 away series and also with more variations in store, he is abetter bet than Axar on good batting tracks.

India Predicted 11 vs Bangladesh for 1st Test

Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul/Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj