Spotlight on India's young guns in Gwalior's newest territory

Less than three months ago, Abhishek Sharma was at the pinnacle of his young career. "Today's my day," he had declared after smashing a 46-ball hundred in only his second international appearance. And he did that while opening the batting with his friend and Punjab teammate from U-12 days, Shubman Gill, who incidentally was also captaining the side. Fittingly, it was Gill's bat with which he reached the milestone.

But cricket has a way of turning fortunes around quickly. Just two days later, he had to move down the order to accommodate Yashasvi Jaiswal, the incumbent opener, and unfortunately that was it for Abhishek's short stint at the top. He wasn't even in the Indian squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka later that month.

Abhishek is back again in the spotlight and this very much feels like his moment. The same can be said for a lot others in this 15-man squad who have on occasions been rendered to the sidelines because someone better was in the way. This is their chance to bubble to the top. Varun Chakaravarthy, who is yet to play an international match on home soil, comes in with a point to prove whereas Sanju Samson, forever battling for a middle-order spot, gets a temporary new lease at the top of the order. Riyan Parag finally earns his place and Ravi Bishnoi would want to step up as the lead legspinner and emerge from the long shadows of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Which is why those struggling to see the relevance of this three-match T20I series, that's buried deep in India's Test season, are missing the point. Indian cricket runs deep and opportunities like these, to make a claim, can be few and far in between. Just ask Abhishek.

"It's a great opportunity for youngsters. Whenever they have played for there states, they have done well. There's nothing different to do here," India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on the eve of the first T20I.

On the surface, this series might not offer India much to gain. After all, they have only ever lost to Bangladesh once in 14 attempts. But what's also true is that this is a very young Indian side which is out to answer some questions about itself, and they are set to test their might against an opposition that outnumbers their experience by 250 international caps. It doesn't happen very often in Indian cricket.

"We are not thinking in that way," Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto said of the mismatch in experience between the sides. "There is an opportunity to beat them. It's not like we have never beaten any big team. Honestly, there are no big or small teams in T20s. The team doing well on the particular day wins and is the bigger team."

Bangladesh know they are in the hunt and their playground on Sunday will be a brand new venue in Gwalior that India know little about. Whether the visitors will be able to put it all together in front of 33,000 very loud people is a different question altogether.

When:1st T20I, October 6, 2024, 7:00 pm local time

Where:Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, Gwalior

What to expect: The square at the venue has both red and black soil pitches but this particular match will be played on a black-soil surface bang in the middle of the playing area. The boundaries are approximately at a distance of 72 yards from the center. While pitches in Madhya Pradesh have historically tended to favour the batters (both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag scored their ODI doubles on them after all), how this one will play is anybody's guess. The pitch, if it matters, bears a few barren patches across the length and has been kept under hessian covers to protect it from drying out too much. Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy, having practiced at the facility for two days, felt it would be a "low and slow" pitch.

The groundsmen are keeping their fingers crossed about the outfield, which lacks a sub-air drainage system and witnessed a fair amount of rain last week.

The only cricket that's been played at this brand new venue is the Madhya Pradesh T20 League, and that was back in June. The tournament witnessed an average first-inning total of 161. Chasing sides won seven and lost four out of 12 games, with one ending in a tie. The highest recorded total during the tournament was 278/4.

Team News

India

Tearaway quick Mayank Yadav is all set for debut after a quiet domestic season which saw him spend most of his time at the NCA. It could mean that Harshit Rana will have to wait for his India cap after missing out on it in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Sanju Samson will open the batting alongside Abhishek. Shivam Dube was ruled out of the series with back injury after India's final practice session in Gwalior, so that could mean a debut for Nitish Reddy.

Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Nitish Reddy/Washington Sundar, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav

Tactics & match-ups:Hardik's bowling shows a significant improvement since May 2024, with a much better average, economy rate, and strike-rate numbers. He's picked 18 wickets in 14 matches in the period as compared to only six in the 10 matches from January to April this year. India would be keen to use him as a third pacer and his cutters could come in handy on a pretty untested playing surface.

Hardik bowling in T20s in 2024

Bangladesh

As Nazmul Hossain Shanto's team prepares for life after Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah keeps going strong for Bangladesh and middle-over runs from him will be crucial against the Indian spinners. In the fast-bowling department, there's a choice to make between Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed.

Probable XI:Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Nazmul Hossain Santo (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam/Taskin Ahmed

Tactics & match-ups: In T20Is since 2022, legspin has been a bit of a bugbear for Mahmudullah, who has scored 82 runs off 60 balls off the bowling type but been dismissed five times, so expect India to have Ravi Bishnoi bowl at him pretty early in his innings.

Did you know?

- India have won 18 of the 19 T20Is in 2024 (including two Super over wins) and are currently on a seven-match winning streak

- Bangladesh have a 9-9 win-loss record this year. Seven of the wins have come against Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Nepal and USA

- Tanzid Hasan has three ducks in his last four T20I knocks

What they said:

"Really enjoying this new role. When I was playing under Rohit bhai's captaincy in MI, I used to give my inputs whatever I felt at that time. For India also, feeling good. I captained against Sri Lanka previously against Australia and South Africa also. I have learnt from other captains on how to take the team forward" - Suryakumar Yadav

"This is a new venue, no international match yet, we don't know much what may happen. Domestic is domestic, international is international cricket. I think we will understand the wicket when the match begins" - Towhid Hridoy