India hopes to remain relevant during the Bangladesh Tests for the World Test Championship.

India hopes to remain relevant during the Bangladesh Tests for the World Test Championship : KL Rahul, the interim captain of India, wants his team to play ambitious cricket in Bangladesh in order to protect their chances of making the ICC World Test Championship final the following year.

When India plays Bangladesh in a two-Test series that begins in earnest on Wednesday, they won’t have several of their regular players available.

Rahul will serve as skipper in place of the injured Rohit Sharma (finger), and other seasoned players Jasprit Bumrah (back), Mohammad Shami (shoulder), and Ravindra Jadeja (knee) will also be out.

With only six Tests left in this season, India needs to win in Bangladesh if it expects to go to the World Test Championship final in June at The Oval. The Asian team currently occupies fourth place in the standings.

To stay pace with the World Test Championship pacesetters, Rahul has urged his squad to play positive cricket during the Chattogram Test.

Rahul said,

“There is a Test Championship (final) qualification so we will also have to be aggressive.

We know where we stand and what we need to do to qualify for the final.

Each day, each session we will assess what is required for the team in that particular moment and give our best.”

Despite the fact that Abhimanyu Easwaran, an uncapped batsman, and the bowling quartet of Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, and Jaydev Unadkat were all called up to a 17-player squad earlier this week, it is still unknown exactly what the India XI will look like for that first Test against Bangladesh.

Due to his two consecutive hundreds for India A, Easwaran has a chance to make the Indian team, but if the selectors decide to partner Shubman Gill and Rahul at the top of the order, the 27-year-old may not have the chance to make his debut.

It will just be Gill’s second Test of 2022 if he receives the call, but Rahul is convinced in his ability to perform well.

“Shubman has been a brilliant player and it is wonderful to see his transformation (in ODIs). In Tests, whenever he has got the opportunity he has done the job for the team. He has temperament for the longest format. In every format, he is exciting,” Rahul said.

“What we can do is back exciting and talented players.”

India’s two World Test Championship matches in Bangladesh are followed by two home matches against Australia in February and March, where the two rivals will compete for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Read More…. https://www.sportstrumpet.com/kl-rahul-speaks-out-about-pujara-being-replaced-over-pant/