India vs Bangladesh 1st Test 2024 Confirmed Playing 11

Rohit Sharma back in the whites to lead as we look at the India vs Bangladesh 1st Test 2024 strongest possible playing 11 for the Indian Team. 

After a gap of almost a month, the Indian Team, and especially the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally seems to be in action. The BCCI finally announced the much-awaited squad list for the Bangladesh Tour of India for the 2-match Test series. The Indian team that has been playing limited-overs cricket for more than 7 months now will finally see themselves playing in the longest format of the game. 

Bangladesh will be touring India for the 2-match Test series starting September 19 with the second and final Test match to be played from September 27 to October 1st. As BCCI announced the squad, it seems quite different from the one that played in the last Test series against England. Naturally, the team sees the return of their experienced guys like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, etc. 

While the squad is now officially announced as seen below, but it is only applicable for the 1st Test match, So, the next big question is who makes India’s playing 11 the strongest option for the 1st Test match? Mind you, India will be playing the 1st Test match at Chennai, which is actually the spin paradise in India. So, assuming the strongest possibility, let’s look at the playing 11 that India may play in the 2024 1st Test match vs Bangladesh. 

India vs Bangladesh 2024 Official 1st Test Squad List:  

1. KL Rahul
2. Rohit Sharma (c)
3. Sarfaraz Khan
4. Shubman Gill
5. Virat Kohli
6. Yashasvi Jaiswal
7. Dhruv Jurel (wk)
8. Rishabh Pant (wk)
9. Axar Patel
10. Ravindra Jadeja
11. Ravichandran Ashwin
12. Akash Deep
13. Jasprit Bumrah
14. Kuldeep Yadav
15. Mohammed Siraj
16. Yash Dayal

If we look at the squad that has been selected in the Indian team, only one first-choice player is missing from the squad, and that’s Mohammed Shami. Shami had sustained injury before IPL 2024, and has been out of action since then. While his recovery is on track, he could take another couple of months to get back on track. But barring Shami, this seems to be the best squad that India can select for the Test series. 

The squad also sees a few new players in the squad who may or may not be able to make it to the 1st Test match playing 11. The new names that have been added to the squad are RCBians, right-arm pacer Akash Deep and left-arm pacer Yash Dayal. Both have been rewarded for their fantastic performances in the Domestic circuit including the recently played Duleep Trophy 2024. However, both might not feature in the playing 11 straight away.  

India vs Bangladesh 2024 1st Test Strongest Playing 11 Analyzed:

Now, if we start with the top-order for Team India, we don’t see any change as Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill are expected to lead the team at the top after having also impressed in the recently conducted England Test series. While Yashasvi smashed more than 700 runs in the series, Gill too had a solid series, and was finally able to establish himself at the number 3 position. 

With a settled top-order, Team India will be excited with the return of Virat Kohli at the number 4 position. Kohli had missed the England series due to parental duties, but is now back in the side, and will play both the Test matches. With Kohli at 4, India will mostly play KL Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz Khan purely for the experience. Sarfaraz didn’t do anything wrong to get dropped, but KL Rahul is an experienced player, and will get the opportunity ahead of Sarfaraz.

The lower-order will see the return of Rishabh Pant in the India Whites team. Pant has been out of action in the Indian Test team for more than a year now. But he is definitely a first-choice player, and Dhruv Jurel will have to wait for his opportunity. With Pant playing at 6, and Jadeja supporting him at 7, this is one of the best top 7 in the world, if not the very best. In addition, India will see Ravichandran Ashwin at number 8, and Axar Patel at number 9, thus strengthening the overall batting.

Siraj vs Kuldeep

Finally, talking about the bowling, India are likely to select only one pacer and 4 spinners with the match being played in Chennai. Chennai has the best spin-friendly pitches among all pitches in India, so going ahead with a spinner like Kuldeep Yadav rather than a pacer like Mohammed Siraj makes more sense. So, alongside the spin all-rounders, Jadeja, Ash, and Axar, India will play Kuldeep as the primary spinner, and Jasprit Bumrah as the only pacer in the squad.     

India vs Bangladesh 1st Test 2024 Strongest Playing 11

1. Rohit Sharma (c)
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
3. Shubman Gill
4. Virat Kohli
5. KL Rahul
6. Rishabh Pant (wk)
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
9. Axar Patel
10. Kuldeep Yadav
11. Jasprit Bumrah

So, that’s about the strongest playing 11 for Team India for the 2024 1st Test match vs Bangladesh. Overall, there is not much debate about choosing the first-choice playing 11, except for choosing one between Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav. With Chennai pitch expected to assist spinners, Kuldeep above makes an automatic choice. But if it all there is assistance for pace, Siraj could get a game above Kuldeep.   

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