India vs Bangladesh: Rishabh Pant back as BCCI announces squad for 1st Test

India has announced the squad on September 8, Sunday for the first Test against Bangladesh with Rishabh Pant making a return.

Pant, who last played a Test match all the way back in December 2022, recently made his return to red-ball cricket during the Duleep Trophy 2024. The wicketkeeper-batter was part of the India B team that defeated India A in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Incidentally, Pant’s last Test match was also against Bangladesh, as he was part of the team that won the game in Mirpur before he met with the car accident late in 2022. Pant and Dhruv Jurel, who was sensational behind the stumps during the Duleep trophy round 1 match, were picked as the designated wicketkeepers in the squad. KL Rahul is also back in the squad as a pure batter for the first Test.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are all part of the squad having missed the Duleep trophy first match. There is also a first call-up for Yash Dayal in the team, which doesn’t have Shreyas Iyer in the mix.

Sarfaraz Khan, who was impressive in his debut series against England, retains his spot in the squad. The first Test between India and Bangladesh will start from September 19 at the Chepauk in Chennai.

India squad for 1st Test against Bangladesh:

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.

Pant’s performance in Duleep Trophy
Pant would have decent outing during the Duleep trophy match in Bengaluru. While he failed with the bat in the first innings, he bounced back with a 47-ball 61 in the second one, which would set a tough score for India A to chase. They would ultimately lose the match by 76 runs.