From Hardik Pandya to Suryakumar Yadav, Here’s how team India could fare in the T 20 series against Bangladesh

Following the end of the present two-match Test Series whose second leg commenced on Friday September 27, at Green Park Stadium Kanpur, the men ‘s cricket team of India will host Bangladesh for the three- match T20I series. The first T20I will be held at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior on October 6, after which the next two T20Is will be played in Delhi and Hyderabad on October 9, and October 12 respectively.

T20 World Cup 2024 champions India defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in the latest series of this format held in July 2024, and the number one ranked team will also be looking to put on a great performance in front of their home crowd.

Suryakumar Yadav has recovered and is ready to take charge of the team in the last white ball series this year that will take place on Indian grounds. The 34-year-old Mumbai batsman aggravated an injury while playing in the Buchi Babu Trophy match in August and sat out the first two rounds of the Duleep Trophy 2024. But after proving his fitness and featuring in the third match for India B, it seems like Surya is all but certain of his selection.

The star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is also likely to join the T20I series which will mark his return to the field after an injury layoff of almost two months. Baroda’s cricketer who is thirty years of age did not play the ODI series with Sri Lanka last month due to personal issues.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed and Prasidh Krishna have been included in the Rest of India (ROI) squad for the Irani Cup 2024 match against Mumbai, the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 winners to be held in Lucknow from October 1 to 5, making it very improbable that they will participate in the T20I series which begins on October 6.

Since Gaikwad and Ishan are not available, it is all but certain that Abhishek Sharma will be drafted in as the opener and Sanju Samson will assume the wicketkeeper role. It would, however, be intriguing to know if Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will be included in the squad as well for the shortest format of the game. On a related note, a report surfaced last week stating that Gill is under some load management and is unlikely to play in the three T20Is.

Abhishek, who had been left out for the Sri Lanka T20Is, will probably fit in the teams plans as an opener, alongside the likes of Riyan Parag, who will be joined by Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar who showed great form in the Duleep Trophy 2024. The absence of Parag, Arshdeep and Rana from the ROI squad was an obvious sign they are being earmarked for a place in the T20I squad of India.

T20 World Cup 2024 winning pair Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel may also be inclusion in the T20I series, however, the same cannot be said of Yuzvendra Chahal who last played a match for India back in August 2023. In the eventuality that Axar and Kuldeep are also unavailable looking at the packed calendar which is fast approaching, then former world No 1 ranked T20I bowler Ravi Bishnoi is expected to spearhead the spin bowling department in India with Sundar as the second spinning option

As a T20I specialist, Rinku Singh is bound to play as the finisher, while Shivam Dube and Nitish Reddy are expected to be brought in the squad as pace-bowling all-rounders. SRH’s Nitish, however, was included in the T20I squad against Zimbabwe in July 2024, but he could not make it to the tour because of injury.

India's likely squad for T20I series against Bangladesh: Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan , Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Nitish Reddy