India’s 1st Test Squad Against Bangladesh: Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami Left Out Amid Selection Changes

After over 20 months, Rishabh Pant finally returned to the Test team as the BCCI revealed India’s 16-man squad for the opening match of the two-Test series against Bangladesh, which is scheduled to start on September 19. After missing the home five-Test series against England earlier this year due to a leave of absence for the birth of his second kid, Virat Kohli also made his comeback.

For the first time since the T20 World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah also returned to the Indian squad. While there were no real surprises, there were a few noteworthy omissions. Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer, who have both recently abstained from red-ball play, are still not included in the squad. While Shami is making a comeback after suffering an injury during the ODI World Cup last year. Iyer has a more intricate case.

Considering that Iyer returned to the Indian ODI team and scored a solid half-century in the Duleep Trophy match for India D, some may be surprised by his absence from the Test squad. But the choice seems to have been influenced by both his turbulent year in 2024 and his patchy performance in red-ball cricket.

The 29-year-old batsman, who had been steadily improving over the previous several years in Indian cricket, suffered a serious injury earlier this year during the Test series against England. Afterwards, because of his apparent lack of availability for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, he was taken off of BCCI’s central contracts.

Iyer’s red-ball skills have definitely suffered despite an impressive return in which he led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL success and Mumbai to a crown. His recent longer format performances have been lackluster, especially in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, when he was unable to leave a lasting impression.

He could only generate nine runs in the first inning of the Duleep Trophy, illustrating his persistent troubles. Even though he did reach fifty in the second innings, the selectors’ decision to pass on him for the next Test series was probably influenced by his inconsistent play in the longer format.

His poor performance persisted in the Duleep Trophy opening inning, when he was only able to generate nine runs. The selectors’ decision to pass on him for the next Test series is probably due in part to his inconsistent performance in the longer format, even though he did make fifty in the second innings.

The tough rivalry for middle-order berths in the Indian Test team is making Iyer’s problems worse. Iyer is now lower on the list due to the rise of Sarfaraz Khan, who impressed with his aggressive batting during his maiden series against England earlier this year, and KL Rahul, who has been a regular in the Test team with consistent performances.

A few weeks back, Mohammed Shami’s likely return for the forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh was alluded to the BCCI top selector Ajit Agarkar. Shami’s rehabilitation is still ongoing, though, and in the end, he was left out of the Test team.

According to a PTI article from last month, Shami is anticipated to resume playing competitive cricket in October following the Bangladesh series. But his reappearance will not be among Indian whites. Shami will instead represent Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, which begins on October 11, before he becomes eligible for selection for the national team.

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