New Delhi: The entire country and followers of red-ball cricket were left bereft as team India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed the playing XI that was set to play Bangladesh in the ongoing first test in Chennai. Interestingly, India has gone ahead with three pacers, and just two spinners will be playing in the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The decision to field only 2 spinners for a spin-friendly track is a huge surprise. Usually, in a subcontinent pitch, teams enter the game with three specialist spinners. However, in this case, India has drafted only two specialist spinners (Ashwin and Jadeja). Another surprising thing was Bangladesh’s desire to bowl in these conditions rather than bat.
Plausible explanation for this strange move…
One of the plausible explanations behind the Indian team’s strange decision is the red soil pitch that is being used. The red soil is anticipated to aid the pacers during the early half of the inning, while the spinners will come into play during the latter half of the innings.
Interestingly, the same soil is also used in the Wankhede Stadium of Mumbai. Furthermore, a good amount of moisture was present at the Chennai surface, promising guaranteed help for the pacers. The cherry on the top was the overcast conditions in Chennai with a cool breeze.
India vs Bangladesh: Squads
India Squad
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.
