India are all set to engage in a busy Test schedule, starting from the two-match series against Bangladesh. The Men in Blue will be playing 10 red-ball games in the coming months as they look to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the third time.
Meanwhile, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the team for the first Test against Bangladesh, speculations have become rife about who will be making it to the team for the opener in Chennai from September 19 onwards. There are only a handful of spots up for grabs as most of the Playing XI looks decided. One among them is a choice between veteran KL Rahul and the young gun Sarfaraz Khan.
In a major update from news agency PTI, KL Rahul is set to start ahead of the Mumbai batter Sarfaraz, who made his long-awaited Test debut in the five-match series against England earlier in the year. The report quoted a BCCI source highlighting Rahul's performance in Test cricket, especially in overseas conditions.
"For people on the outside, they don't understand how a team works and what are the systems in place. In his last three Test matches, KL scored a century in South Africa, one of the best Test knocks in recent times and 86 at Hyderabad in the last Test he played before injury," a BCCI source said as quoted by PTI.
He confirmed that Rahul will start ahead. "He was not dropped but got injured. So, he is fit and available, scored a fifty in Duleep, got match time and he will start," the source added.
Musheer set for India A tour of Australia
Meanwhile, Musheer Khan, who struck an 181-run knock for India B in the Duleep Trophy, is all set to travel to Australia for the India A shadow tour. The tour will have three 'four-day' Tests ahead of the five-match Test series. The A team will be picked based on the Duleep Trophy performances and the Irani Cup match.
