India’s Test resurgence begins against Bangladesh, with Morne Morkel at the helm
India’s Test team returns to action after a six-month hiatus, facing Bangladesh in a two-match series starting September 19. The series marks the debut of former South African pacer Morne Morkel as India’s new bowling coach.
Under the guidance of head coach Gautam Gambhir and Morkel, India’s batters, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, experimented with different nets during their first practice session. The black soil pitch was allocated to spinners, while the pacers took the red soil pitch.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is known for its spin-friendly conditions, prompting India to explore their options. The bowling lineup includes Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel as spin options, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Yash Dayal provide pace.
India has also enlisted a group of promising net bowlers, including spinners S Ajith Ram, M Siddharth, and P Vignesh, and pacers Arpit Guleria, Gurnoon Brar, Yudhvir Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Simarjeet Singh, and Gurjapneet Singh.
Bangladesh enters the series on a high after their 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan. The series carries significant importance in the World Test Championship (WTC), with India currently leading the table and Bangladesh rising to fourth spot.
India faces a grueling 10-match Test season, including a three-Test series against New Zealand and the five-match Border-Gavaskar series in Australia later this year. The Bangladesh series will provide a crucial test for Rohit Sharma’s side as they prepare for these challenges.
