Big picture: T20 world champions return home
Suryakumar Yadav leads a less experienced team than Bangladesh in T20Is, but his players are more skilled and versatile than Bangladesh in the format. Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh are among the experienced players in the Indian side, but players with less than 10 T20I caps are also stars. Newcomers Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are uncapped players, while Abhishek Sharma, who made his debut against Zimbabwe in July, has a chance to add to his cap of five T20Is.
The home team is also largely missing their first-choice fast bowlers, who could make debuts for Mayank Yadav, who hit 150 kph for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and Harshit, who won IPL 2024 with Kolkata Knight Riders. Hardik provides them with seam bowling support while Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and the returning Varun Chakravarthy make up the spin group.
This is a huge opportunity for Bangladesh, who do not play enough T20Is. From developing their game against strong opposition to having an outside chance of getting selected for the IPL, there will be exciting things in store for the visitors’ camp.
Players like Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan all have at least 50 T20Is and will need to get their act together for Bangladesh to beat India. Relative newcomers like Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain and Tanzid Hasan are also making a name for themselves. All of this is very important when it comes to knowing who is no longer in the lineup.
Shakib Al Hasan, arguably the best cricketer of Bangladesh, has announced his retirement from Tests and T20Is.
Form Instructions
India WWWWW (last 5 T20Is, most recent first)
BangladeshLLLWW
People of note: Sanju Samson and Rishad Hossain
Team News: Mayank Yadav or Harshit Rana could be awaiting debut.
India had a new-look top order and seam attack with a number of regulars missing from the T20I squad. They brought in Tilak Varma for the injured Dube, but Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to take his place in the XI. Tearaway Mayank has not trained much leading up to the series opener on Sunday, which could mark Harshit’s debut.
India (probably): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (captain), 3 Suryakumar Yadav (captain), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Harshit Rana/Mayank Yadav , 11 Ashdeep Singh
Mehidy Hasan Miraz is back in the Bangladesh T20I team to play as a batting all-rounder. Parvez Hossain Emon could be selected ahead of Tanzid Hasan.
Bangladesh (probably): 1 Litton Das (main), 2 Parvez Hossain Emon, 3 Tanzid Hasan, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 6 Towhid Hridoy, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Venue and Conditions: Good weather Sunday evening.
In India, the top-ranked team in night games over the past 12 months has averaged over 190 runs, with four of the eight teams scoring over 200 first.
Sunday evening is expected to be a little cooler than the usual daytime heat.
Statistics and Trivia
- This international match will be held at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, 12 km west of Gwalior city. The last match played in the region was in February 2010 when Sachin Tendulkar hit his first double hundred in ODIs at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium.
- Bangladesh (644 matches) has a more experienced T20I squad than India (389 matches) in this series.
- At 37 years and 180 days, Shakib recently became the oldest Test cricketer for Bangladesh. Mahmudullah, who is part of this T20 team, is the second oldest player in Bangladesh across all formats and is currently playing at the age of 38. Overall, Jahangir Shah is the oldest international cricketer from Bangladesh to have played in an ODI against New Zealand at the age of 41.
quote
“In this series you will see our players trying to play with a new approach. Everyone will play to win. I think the players that are here (for the series) and the four or five players “These will be the players who will play in 2026, so I think preparation will begin properly from this series.”
Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossein Santo About the initial preparations for the next T20 World Cup.
“It’s a great opportunity (for the rookies). They have good potential. They’ve made an impact in their state and their franchise. I hope they do the same because they wouldn’t have to do anything else if given the opportunity.”
Suryakumar Yadav Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy
*The trailer has been updated as news of Dube’s injury spread.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
