India have chosen fast-bowler Akash Deep as their third seam-bowling choice as Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first in the Test series opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday.
India, after this match, are now on top of the points table of the World Test Championship while Bangladesh feature at the fourth spot. This Chennai Test marks the start of the international home season for the Indian men's team as well, and it is going to be played on a red-soil wicket.
India played the last Test series at home against England, winning 4-1, whereas Bangladesh come from a historic 2-0 series win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
"So, when we were called in we sort of knew how much moisture was going to be there because it had rained day before so we decided to bowl," captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said after winning the toss on the first day.
"There is moisture and we want to capitalise on it. The pitch looks hard. The first session will be very rewarding for the seamers. It is a new series. It is a good combination of experience and youth. We go with three seamers and two all-rounders," he said.
The right-handed batsman said India captain Rohit Sharma that he would have preferred to bat second because their bowling lineup consists of Akash, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj as fast bowlers with two spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
"That can be done too. It is bit soft. It is going to be challenging conditions. We have prepared well, so we must trust in our potential and play the way we know.".
Looking at the 10 Test matches, every match is important. But we want to focus on what lies in front of us. We came here a week back, we had good prep leading up to this one. We feel confident, Rohit said.
It is the return of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to Test cricket after nearly 20 months. Co-incidentally, his last Test before surviving a car crash that left him fighting for his life was against Bangladesh at Mirpur in December 2022.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana
Read also| Rishabh Pant Makes Comeback as India Reveals Squad for 1st Test Against Bangladesh
