Bangladesh vs India: Rohit Sharma ruled out of 1st Test, KL Rahul to lead

Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of India’s opening Test against Bangladesh to be played from Wednesday, December 14 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

The 34-year-old suffered a thumb injury during the second ODI in Dhaka, after which he couldn’t take part in the third and final game of the series on Saturday in Chattogram.

Head coach Rahul Dravid said that Rohit’s participation in the red-ball matches would be doubtful and that the Indian skipper would fly back to Mumbai to ascertain the gravity of his injury. KL Rahul, who captained the Men in Blue in a 227-run victory in the last ODI, will stand in for the Nagpur-born Rohit in the 1st Test.

Abhimanyu Easwaran, in the meantime, has been called up as a replacement for Rohit. Easwaran recently played in the unofficial Test series against Bangladesh A that India won 1-0. The right-handed batter won the Player of the Match award after he scored 157 in the first innings of the second match.

In two matches, Easwaran, who also captained India A, scored 298 runs at an average of 149 with two centuries to show for his efforts.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami and veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have also been ruled out of the series. Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar, who both played in the matches against Bangladesh A, have replaced them.

Kumar was the standout performer for India in the bowling department against Bangladesh A as he picked up 15 wickets with two five-wicket hauls to his name. Kumar was also the leading wicket-taker of the series. Saini, on the other hand, picked up six wickets with his best figures of 4/73.

Even as Easwaran and Saurabh are yet to don the national jersey, Saini has already played two Tests for India where he picked up four wickets. Saini last played in the historic Gabba Test, which India won by three wickets against Australia to claim the series 2-1.