Find out all you need to know about the clash between the sides in Indore
India welcome Bangladesh for two matches this month as they look to maintain their undefeated record in the World Test Championship. The first begins on November 14.
Having last met in a one-off Test in Hyderabad in 2017, the sides will compete meet in Indore later this week before a floodlit series decider – the first pink-ball test played by either country – at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
FIRST TEST: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore (Thursday, November 14 to Monday, November 18, 9:30am local time, 4am GMT)
India will be looking to maintain their undefeated 2019 in the five-day game, with a rainy draw against Australia in January their only non-victory of the calendar year so far. Virat Kohli's side appears to be going from strength to strength in the Test arena, with last month's visit of South Africa culminating in hefty innings victories at Pune and Ranchi, highlighted by Rohit Sharma striking 529 runs across his four knocks to cement himself at the top of the order.
The home side is largely unchanged from that dominant 3-0 win over the Proteas, with third-Test debutant Shahbaz Nadeem the only member of that squad to miss out this time around after Kuldeep Yadav returned to fitness. India's confidence will be further boosted following their victory in the three-match T20 series over Bangladesh earlier this month, although Bangladesh's successful chase in the Delhi opener will surely make the hosts wary of the threat the visitors can pose on their day.
After their drubbing of South Africa extended their lead of both the ICC rankings and World Test Championship, Kohli – who was rested from the T20 series – will lead his side into a contest they have yet to lose through nine Tests to date, with weather-affected draws at Chittagong in 2007 and Fatullah in 2015 the only ones they have failed to complete victories in.
However, with the series decider in Kolkata set to be the first floodlit pink-ball Test match played by either country, there is every chance a Bangladesh outfit with a real point to prove could exploit the unusual conditions and spring a surprise.
India's squad of 15 for the first Test is identical to the pack that triumphed 3-0 against South Africa last month, however third-Test debutant Shahbaz Nadeem misses out as fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav has returned to full fitness.
That means Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are again missing out after picking up back injuries, however India's hopes of Bumrah returning for February's tour of New Zealand have been boosted by the news that he will not require surgery on what was initially feared to be a stress fracture.
Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddiman Saha (wk), Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav
With Dafabet, punters can currently get odds of 1/9 on India to win the first Test, making them clear favourites, with Bangladesh outsiders at 14/1.
Bangladesh are yet to open their World Test Championship account, with September's one-off game hosting Afghanistan their first Test since touring New Zealand in the spring. It was also their first Test after former South Africa coach Russell Domingo was announced as their new boss, and it can only be described as an unceremonious start to his tenure: 11 wickets from Rashid Khan and Rahmat Shah scoring his country's maiden Test century led the visitors to a historic 224-run win.
As keen as Bangladesh may have been to banish memories of that game, the sort of chaos that has engulfed the team in recent weeks may not be quite what they had in mind. Within days, it was announced that the Bangladesh Premier League was to be postponed until further notice following disagreements between teams and the governing BCB. Next, it was the turn of the players to turn on the administration, with superstar allrounder Shakib Al Hasan leading brief strike action before the board relented on a series of demands.
Within 24 hours of each other, senior opener Tamim Iqbal pulled out of the tour to be with his wife as she gives birth and Mushfiqur Rahim announced that he would no longer be keeping wicket in the format – and only then did things kick off. The ICC announced that captain Shakib had pled guilty to several breaches of their anti-corruption code, with the punishment for failing to report a series of approaches from a bookmaker earning him a two-year ban from all forms of the game.
Shakib and Soumya Sarkar are the only two players to drop out from the squad from that game in Chittagong, with Mominul Haque elevated to the captaincy for the first time in his international career. Even by his own admission, the promotion was "totally unexpected", and a series against the world's number one side would be a baptism of fire under any circumstances, let alone in the current situation.
A career-best 220* for Dhaka Division last month has brought 21-year-old batsman Saif Hassan in line to make his first senior international appearance, while Khulna's Imrul Kayes returns to the squad after his own unbeaten double-century against the same opposition just one week earlier. After bowling just four overs of pace out of over 200 against Afghanistan, Mustafizur Rahman is highly likely to come into the side on a less volatile Indore track, whilst fellow seamer Al-Amin Hossain could return to the Test side for the first time in over five years after making his international comeback in the T20 portion of the tour earlier this month.
Squad: Mominul Haque (c), Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan, Nayeem Hasan, Saif Hassan, Al-Amin Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Shadman Islam, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman
The forecast for Indore is promising, with temperatures around the 30 degree mark with bright sunshine throughout.
UK viewers will be able to catch the series live on Star Gold (Sky 717, Virgin Media 801, TalkTalk 551) or stream it online via Hotstar.
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