India’s star keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been rested for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Bangladesh, scheduled to begin on October 6 in Guwahati, India. Pant, who recently made a comeback to test cricket with a stellar century in Chennai, will be given time off before the upcoming three-test series against New Zealand in October. Along with Pant, several other test regulars such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Khaleel Ahmed have also been excluded from the T20 squad in preparation for the New Zealand series.
In the absence of Pant, Sanju Samson will take over as the first-choice keeper-batter for the T20 series against Bangladesh. The squad also sees the inclusion of pacer Mayank Yadav, who impressed during the previous season of the Indian Premier League while playing for Lucknow Super Giants. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed out on the Zimbabwe T20 series due to injury, has also been included in the squad. Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who recently scored a maiden T20 hundred against Zimbabwe, makes a return to the squad after missing the Sri Lanka tour.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy receives his first call-up to the squad since the Twenty20 World Cup in 2021. Additionally, pacer Harshit Rana and keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma have also been included in the squad for the upcoming T20 series. India coach Gautam Gambhir, who was the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants, played a significant role in the selection of certain players such as Mayank Yadav, who showcased impressive performance in the IPL.
The three T20 matches between India and Bangladesh will take place on October 6, 9, and 12 in Guwahati, Delhi, and Hyderabad, respectively. The team under the leadership of skipper Suryakumar Yadav will be looking to continue their winning streak in the T20 format, building on the momentum from their recent series victories. With several new faces in the squad, it will be interesting to see how the team performs against Bangladesh before gearing up for the challenging series against New Zealand later in October.
