The Indian side defeated Bangladesh by a massive margin of 227 runs in the third and final match of the ODI series, avoiding a clean sweep as the hosts won the series 2-1. The Men in Blue had their moments in the series, but lacked the killer instinct to win games, as Bangladesh edged the visitors by one wicket and five runs, respectively.
The emphasis will now move to Test matches, particularly for India, which still has a chance to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final in the current 2021-23 cycle.
A handful of Test specialists are expected to return for the Indian team, with KL Rahul likely to take over as captain in Rohit Sharma's absence. In the second ODI, Rohit suffered a split webbing while attempting to catch the ball in the slips. Rohit went to India for medical treatment after revealing that he had a dislocation and needed sutures, making his participation in Test matches highly improbable.
Shubman Gill, who missed the ODI series following the New Zealand series, will return to the Test matches. Gill is expected to open alongside KL Rahul, with Rohit missing the series. Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been in spectacular form in 2022 after a magical season with Sussex in the County Championship, will bat at No.3.
Kuldeep Yadav, who was named to the playing XI for the third ODI, will almost certainly make his Test debut in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. Ravichandran Ashwin, who did not play in the Edgbaston Test, will play a red-ball game for India for the first time since the March series against Sri Lanka. Umesh Yadav, who made a surprise return to the Indian T20 side following a good IPL 2022, is expected to start as the first-choice pacer.
Shikhar Dhawan, a one-day specialist, will not be included in the Test squad. Rajat Patidar and Rahul Tripathi, who are yet to make their debuts, were only chosen for the ODI series. Umran Malik, who was chosen to replace Shami in the ODI team is also not playing in the Tests.
IND vs BAN Test Series Schedule
IND vs BAN first Test will be played from Wednesday, December 14-18 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. (09:00 AM IST)
IND vs BAN second Test will be played from Thursday, December 22-26 Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. (09:00 AM IST)
India's Test squad for Bangladesh: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat
READ| 'I was on 95, he calmed me down saying..': Ishan Kishan reveals crucial advice from Virat Kohli during 3rd ODI
