By: Tarish Bhatt
The selectors have announced a 16-member Indian team for a one-off Test against Bangladesh. Hyderabad’s HCA Stadium will host the Test match on February 9, after more than five years.
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul will open for the Indian team, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli. Ajinkya Rahane has also returned to the team after an injury lay-off.
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Abhinav Mukund has found place in the squad as a back-up opener. Meanwhile, Manish Pandey and Parthiv Patel have failed to make the cut. Wriddhiman Saha and Hardik Pandya are back in the team.
“Parthiv’s glovework has definitely improved,” chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said. “But Saha has got better hands and that’s where he scores little more points than Parthiv.”
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As India’s middle-order is back in full force, it will be interesting to see who will bat at number five, Rahane or Karun Nair. Nair in his last Test struck a record triple-century against England. He will certainly give Kohli some headache.
India Test Squad Against Bangladesh: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya
