Mayank’s fitness, Jadeja’s replacement among India’s priorities in Bangladesh T20Is

Having completed a 2-0 sweep in the Tests, India will kick off their three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday. With the likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah rested, the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad has plenty of fresh faces. Here are five things to look forward to during the series from India’s perspective.

When India toured Zimbabwe in July, they had as many as four openers in their playing XI at times. In contrast, they have picked only one, Abhishek Sharma, in a squad of 15 for the Bangladesh series. On the Zimbabwe tour, Abhishek scored a 47-ball 100 but could not do much in the other three innings. While Gill and Jaiswal remain India’s first-choice openers in T20Is, this is an opportunity for Abhishek to surge ahead of his other competitors. That he can bowl as well is an added advantage he has over someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad.

After a stellar IPL 2024, Sanju Samson was named in India’s T20 World Cup squad. But with Rishabh Pant also in the side, he did not get a game. Samson toured Zimbabwe, where he scored 58 off 45 balls in the last T20I, but it was followed by two ducks in two innings in Sri Lanka. While Samson has played most of his cricket in the middle order, he may have to open the innings against Bangladesh. And it is not something completely new for him: he has opened 45 times in T20 cricket, including five times for India. He will carry the confidence of scoring a brisk hundred and two 40s in the Duleep Trophy, albeit in a different format.

The biggest point of interest, undoubtedly, will be Mayank Yadav. Playing for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he had set IPL 2024 ablaze with his searing 150kph-plus pace. Apart from the express speeds, he also exhibited great control over his lines and lengths, which made him all the more effective. Mayank picked up two Player-of-the-Match awards in his first two IPL games but got injured immediately after that and was ruled out of the tournament. He has not played any cricket since then but is now back to full fitness. What needs to be seen is if he can still produce those speeds.

Post Ravindra Jadeja retirement from T20Is, a slot in the playing XI has opened up. India’s three spin options for the Bangladesh series are Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar and Varun Chakravarthy. It may seem that Washington is the only like-for-like replacement, but India now have multiple allrounders in their side, and that has opened the door for specialist spinners Bishnoi and Varun. While Washington is clearly a better batter among the three, Bishnoi and Varun are more attacking bowlers. Like Washington, Bishnoi too can bowl in the powerplay, as he showed against Australia last year. On the other hand, Varun has the mystery element and a bagful of IPL wickets behind him.