Pakistan was expected to win the 2-Test Match Home series against Bangladesh without hassle.

History was written for Bangladesh when they not only won their maiden Test match against Pakistan in Pakistan but also went on to win the second Test dishing out a 2-0 series whitewash.

India will now be facing a resurgent Bangladesh Team for the 2-Test Match Series at home. The Bangladesh team is hoping for a similar result. Is there an upset on the cards?

Should Team India be wary of a resurgent Bangladesh Team?

Absolutely Yes!!

In the past, India has struggled in their home series when the opposition team also had 2- 3 good spinners in their squad.

In recent times, Team India in Tests has struggled against quality spin bowling and debutants like Kuhnemann and New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel exposed India’s batting vulnerability against quality spin

Ajaz Patel picked up a historic 10-wicket haul against India in Mumbai in 2021.

Spinners have troubled the famous India batting lineup in the past too but the current lot has also been vulnerable against spin.

Bangladesh Team have traditionally played in slow low turners at home. While they lack the batting, their bowling takes the cake when the international team lands up at their shores for Test Cricket.

The victory against Pakistan made it more special for the Bangladesh Team as the victory came in the dead pitches of Rawalpindi against a defensive Pakistan playing for a draw.

India’s Home Series  

The Australia series and the England series saw how India struggled even against low-ranked inexperienced spinners.

Both Murphy of Australia and England’s Hartley went on to achieve seven-wicket hauls against the infamous Indian batting lineup.

While India lost the odd Test match against the visiting teams, they came back strongly in the series to win both the Test series thus avoiding an embarrassment at home.

Bangladesh in India in the Past

In the past, a Bangladesh Test series at home for India was to try out new players and, on most occasions, many stars were given rest in the series.

Can India afford to do the same now?

Bangladesh- India Tours in the past has always ended up in a draw or an Indian win but this time the scenario is a bit different with the World Test Championship points in line. India is one of the favourites to make it to their third consecutive finals of the WTC championship.

India will be up against Bangladesh in a Two-Test series starting 19^th of September.

What to Expect?

With a potent spin attack, Bangladesh can ruffle a few Indian feathers in the series especially with India in a transition phase with a new coach and some new inexperienced players in the side.

India will be wary of a resurgent Bangladesh Team and will not be taken lightly by the home team. This may not be as easy as it looks.

Out of all the current Test-playing Teams, India will be most concerned with the spin squad of their eastern neighbours.

The Resurgent Bangladesh Test Team

Bangladesh now has a strong pace battery of bowlers. The pacers bamboozled the Pakistan Batsmen in the recent series. They possess a big threat with the new and the old ball. If the pitches are tired, the spinners come into play.

While at home, Bangladesh has been criticized in the past for making pitches which are completely favouring their bowlers.

This may now come as an advantage in subcontinental pitches including Indian pitches.

The bowlers are seasoned, and well versed with the technicalities of bowling in the sub-continent pitches.

They took 7 wickets in the final Pakistan innings to make path for a series whitewash.

India’s Approach to the Test Series

India will play the first Test with lot of caution as they have not played Test cricket for some time now.

Secondly, they may not take undue risk in experimenting with the batting lineup. This means the current Test sensation, Sarfaraz Khan may not find a place in the playing eleven to accommodate the experienced K.L Rahul.

India in the ongoing Duleep Trophy has unearthed fresh new Talent like Musheer Khan but India would not like to experiment against a team who have just beaten Pakistan in their home soil.

The Indian Team has not considered India T20 Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer in the squad.

The only silver lining to the issue of playing spin by the Indian batters is that youngsters like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan having played domestic season till very recently have sound technique playing the turning ball.

India did struggle against spin losing to Sri Lanka 2-0 ODI series.

While many of the regulars were rested, it was an embarrassing loss for the new coach. In the series, India lost 27 wickets to Sri Lankan spinners.

The visiting Bangladesh team will be aware of this Indian vulnerability and will use it to their advantage during the Test series.

The Bangladesh Team will be an even bigger challenge than the Sri Lanka Team.

Bangladesh have beaten Australia and England in their home turf and the Indian management will be wary of dishing out turning wickets in the home series against a strong Bangladeshi spin squad.

The decision to make rank turners has backfired for the Indian team in the past with the visiting team taking advantage instead of the home team.

So, will Team India continue to roll out turners for the visiting Bangladesh Team? Hope Not

Conclusion

India will play the visiting team in Chennai and Kanpur.

Chennai and Kanpur have been spin-friendly venues in recent years. Bangladesh will be happy that these matches are taking place in these centres.

With the WTC table and points in line, India will be desperate to gain those crucial points from the series.

Bangladesh Beating Pakistan in Pakistan, a shocking victory of Sri Lanka against England in England proves that home advantages are now a thing of the past with international players being exposed to various conditions thanks to the advent of the Franchise games.