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IND vs BDESH 2024/25, IND vs BAN 1st T20I Match Preview

Big picture: T20 World Champions return home

A T20I series in the middle of a Test season can be a hard sell but both India and Bangladesh will have their own priorities in the three-match series that begins in Gwalior on Sunday. While India have rested their key players – and are also without Shivam Dube, who missed out on Saturday due to injury* – the fringe players will look to establish themselves as backup players and will also be keen to boost their IPL value.

Suryakumar Yadav leads a side that is less experienced than Bangladesh in T20Is, but his players are more skilled and versatile than Bangladesh's in the format. Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh are among the experienced players in India's squad, but even those with fewer than 10 T20I internationals are stars. Newcomers Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are the uncapped players while Abhishek Sharma, who made his debut against Zimbabwe in July, has a chance to add to his five T20I international caps.

The home team will also be without most of their first-choice fast bowlers, which could allow debuts for Mayank Yadav, who hit 150 kmph for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and Harshit, who won the IPL 2024 with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Hardik provides them seam bowling support while Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and the returning Varun Chakravarthy form the spin group.

This is a big opportunity for Bangladesh, who don't play enough T20Is. From developing their game against strong opposition to getting an outside chance of being picked in the IPL, there will be excitement in the away camp.

The likes of Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan, all of whom have at least fifty T20Is under their belt, will have to get their act together if Bangladesh want to beat India. Even relative newcomers like Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain and Tanzid Hasan are enjoying growing reputation. All of this is crucial when they know who is no longer in their lineup.

Shakib Al Hasan, arguably Bangladesh's greatest cricketer, has announced his retirement from Tests and T20Is.

Form Guide

India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
BangladeshLLLWW

Spotlight: Sanju Samson and Rishad Hossain

Since India had only selected one opener, Abhishek, Sanju Samson will be promoted to partner Abhishek – this was confirmed by Suryakumar on the eve of the game. Samson has had ducks in his last two T20I matches against Sri Lanka but it will be his IPL form from the start of the year that will give him and the team management the confidence for this series. Samson scored 531 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 153.46 in IPL 2024, once again highlighting his skills in the format, which he would like to quickly incorporate into his international game.

Leg spinner Rishad Hossain finished the T20 World Cup earlier this year with 14 wickets, level with Rashid Khan, with an average of 13.85 and an economy rate of 7.76. He emerged as Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Now comes the second act: impressing the IPL scouts in India. It will be difficult to back up such a strong performance and even in the past many Bangladesh players have struggled to build on early successes. Rishad has only played one competitive match since the 2024 T20 World Cup but has been training in Dhaka since then to get up to speed.

Team News: Mayank Yadav or Harshit Rana could be considered for their debut

India have a new top line-up and close attack with a number of regular players missing from their T20I squad. They have brought in Tilak Varma for the injured Dube but it is likely that Nitish Kumar Reddy will take his place in the XI. Tearaway Mayank hasn't trained much ahead of the series opener, which could mean a debut for Harshit on Sunday.

India (probably): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (Week), 3 Suryakumar Yadav (Capt), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Harshit Rana/Mayank Yadav , 11 Arshdeep Singh

Mehidy Hasan Miraz returns to the Bangladesh T20I team to play as a batting all-rounder. Parvez Hossain Emon could be selected ahead of Tanzid Hasan.

Bangladesh (probably): 1 Litton Das (wk), 2 Parvez Hossain Emon, 3 Tanzid Hasan, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 6 Towhid Hridoy, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Place and conditions: Good weather on Sunday evening

The pitch is somewhat unknown as this will be the first international match at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, where extra security measures are in place amid some calls for a boycott.

Teams that have batted first in night games in India over the last 12 months have scored an average of more than 190 runs, with four of the eight teams scoring more than 200 runs.

On Sunday evening the weather is expected to be slightly cooler than the usual daytime heat.

Statistics and interesting facts

  • This is the first international match at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, located 12 km west of Gwalior city. The last match in the region was in February 2010 when Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double hundred in ODIs at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium.
  • Bangladesh (644 caps) have a more experienced T20I squad than India (389 caps) in this series.
  • At 37 years and 180 days, Shakib recently became Bangladesh's oldest Test cricketer. Mahmudullah, part of this T20 squad, is the second oldest player in all formats for Bangladesh and is now playing at the age of 38. Overall, Jahangir Shah is Bangladesh's oldest international cricketer, having played an ODI against New Zealand at the age of 41.

Quote

“In this series you will see our players trying to play with a new approach. Everyone will play to win. I think the players that are here.” [for the series]and four or five more will be the ones taking part in the 2026 World Cup. So I think our preparations will really start with this series.”
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto about their early preparation for the next T20 World Cup

“This is a good opportunity [for newcomers]. You have good potential; They have influenced their state and their franchises. If they get a chance, I hope they do the same because there is no need to do anything different.”
Suryakumar Yadav about Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy

*Preview updated as news of Dube's injury broke.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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