Kolkata: Tamil Nadu southpaw, Abhinav Mukund was on Tuesday recalled after almost six years as a back-up opener in the 16-member Indian Test squad for the one-off Test match against Bangladesh, starting February 9 in Hyderabad. Mukund had quite a decent run in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, where he captained Tamil Nadu to the semifinals. The batsman aggregated 849 runs at an average of 65.30.Trophy. He shall be returning to the national team dressing room after the twin tours to West Indies and England in 2011. The other two openers selected for the test match are national team regulars Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.
All guns blazing, Wriddhiman Saha, who is fit again following the match-winning double century in the Irani Cup, has been recalled. The wicket-keeper from Bengal retained his place in the team following the exclusion of Parthiv Patel, who had stepped in as backup for the last three Tests against England after Saha injured his left thigh. Also coming back from injury is batsman Ajinkya Rahane whose place in the playing XI will not be quite as assured, considering his replacement in the team, Karun Nair stricking a triple century in India’s last Test against England. All-rounders Jayant Yadav and Hardik Pandya were also named in the squad after suffering injuries during the series against England.
The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who were rested for the T20 series against England were also picked for the game against Bangladesh. The success of this combination has proved crucial over the years for the Indian team, especially on the sub-continental pitches tailor made for spinners. Amit Mishra has also been included in the squad as a back-up spinner for whom it might be make or break given his struggles in the longer format.
Bengal bowler, Mohammed Shami has returned to practice after picking up an injury against England but has been rested for Test against Bangladesh as a precautionary measure. Thus the pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav were picked.
The side led by Virat Kohli showed its strength at home by beating New Zealand 3-0 and England 4-0, and while Bangladesh is a much-improved outfit, the home side will be expected to pick up a victory in this match. This one-off test will be a perfect chance for India to test its bench strength and shall also help instill some confidence in the young team before it faces the mighty Aussies in a four-match Test series later in February.
The final squad:
Virat Kohli (Capt), KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Wrddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.