IND vs BAN | Shahbaz Nadeem excluded as India announce 16-man Test squad

After triumphant success in the Test series against South Africa in which the visitors were no match to the Indian team, India announced an almost unchanged squad for the Bangladesh series. Only Nadeem, who was a late cover for the Ranchi Test, has been excluded and will go back to domestic cricket once again.

Virat Kohli, who has taken a rest for the T20 series, will return to the side to lead the Indian team in the Test format, while Rohit Sharma will continue to open alongside Mayank Agarwal as was the case in the Test series against South Africa. Shubman Gill is the extra opener in the squad.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the two all-rounders in the side while Kuldeep Yadav, who complained of a shoulder issue, has retained his spot. If India don’t prepare out and out rank turners for the series, it is expected that Kuldeep will keep warming the bench for the Bangladesh series as well.

Ishant Sharma, despite his bad performance against South Africa, has retained his spot in the line-up but is behind Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami - two of the Indian team’s sub-continent experts - in the pecking order.

India’s squad for Test series against Bangladesh: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Saha (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant