KL Rahul

The two Tests between India and Bangladesh are a part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle, where India are currently placed fourth with 52.08 percentage points. With them needing to win Tests against Bangladesh and Australia, stand-in captain K.L Rahul has promised that India will play aggressive cricket in the upcoming series against the Shakib Al Hasan-led side.

On Sunday, after the toss of the first ODI at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Pant was released from India's ODI squad after consultation with its medical staff. It added that no replacement will be sought by the team in his absence, without mentioning specific details on why the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter will not take part in ODIs against Bangladesh.

The absence of first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant meant Rahul donned the gloves during the first ODI against Bangladesh, scoring a swashbuckling 73 and also taking the vital catch of opener Litton Das even though the hosts won the match by one wicket.

Rahul also shared a 67-run stand off 37 balls for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, who continued his sizzling touch in the tournament by hitting eight fours and a six at a strike-rate of 145.45 to be unbeaten on 64 off 44 balls, his third fifty in the tournament and also made him the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cups.

KL Rahul has continued his good showing since India landed in Australia in early October, making a patient 74 in the second practice match against Western Australia XI in Perth and followed it up with 57 in a warm-up match against Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane.

K.L Rahul defended the bowling attack, saying that one should keep in mind the conditions on offer while successfully defending 238 against South Africa. "Overall as a team there's a lot that we need to get better at. Not just for us but for all teams before the World Cup. These are great opportunities for teams to experiment and to try and see what really works for them."

Rahul has only played three T20Is this year -- all in the Asia Cup -- and is searching for touch and form before the all-important ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 next month. The 30-year-old, who recently came back into India's T20I team after an injury layoff, has also come under criticism from some quarters for his slow starts. "He's performed very well in international cricket for India in recent times. He's that good.

K.L. Rahul, addressing a press conference, said, "We all are very excited and we always look forward to the clash between India and Pakistan." "These big tournaments are always exciting and there is a history of rivalry and (thus) the game always comes with high intensity. We learned from our mistakes, and we are looking forward to this match with a new approach," he added.

Both Kohli and Rahul are coming back to India's T20I side for the Asia Cup. But the challenge for the duo is to adapt themselves to the new, attacking approach with the bat India has embraced whenever the duo were not featuring regularly since last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE.

The past few months have been very tough for Rahul, who was out of action due to a sports hernia and Covid-19. After the conclusion of IPL 2022, in which he led Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs, the 30-year-old was scheduled to captain India in the home T20Is against South Africa but missed out owing to a groin injury.