Rishabh Pant excelled with both bat and ball in the Duleep Trophy as he made a long awaited comeback to the Indian Test team.
Pant last played a Test match in December 2022 before a serious car crash saw him sidelined for nearly two years.
While Pant lived up to expectations, India's young batting stars Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to make it count in the Duleep Trophy game.
Pant could also edge out Dhruv Jurel, who fared well with the bat and gloves in the England Test series, in the opening Test against Bangladesh, starting in Chennai from September 19.
Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who took four wickets in the Duleep Trophy match for India B, was a surprise inclusion for the first Test ahead of Khaleel Ahmed, who took five wickets for India A.
All-rounder Axar Patel also looks set to start as the third spinner ahead of Kuldeep Yadav.
Key takeaways from the Duleep Trophy first-round matches:
Pant or Jurel? Who will keep against Bangladesh?
Rishabh Pant made it back to the Test team courtesy an attacking half-century for India B in the Duleep Trophy match in Bengaluru.
Pant, who last played Test cricket against Bangladesh in Dhaka in December 2022, is set to make his comeback to Test cricket against the same opposition.
The left-hander stroked a quickfire 61 from 47 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes, in a wonderful counter-attack display on a pitch giving a lot of assistance to the seamers.
He also took five catches in the second innings, including a full length diving catch down the leg side to dismiss Avesh Khan, to show that he has not lost any of his skills with either the bat or gloves in red-ball cricket.
He is likely to reclaim his place in the playing XI ahead of Jurel, who is likely to be benched despite excelling in India's previous Test series against England earlier this year when he produced match-winning knocks of 90 and 39 not out in the Ranchi Test.
Jurel was also quite sharp with the gloves, taking seven catches in India's B second innings, but his poor returns with the bat (0 and 2) might see him warm the bench during the Bangladesh Tests.
Gill's poor form a concern
Shubman Gill excelled in the No 3 slot in the five Test series against England. However, he didn't fare well in both innings of the Duleep Trophy -- his first red ball game after a while.
Gill fell in the 20s in both innings as he failed to carry on after getting off to a start.
With Kohli back and the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and K L Rahul hitting a fifty each in the Duleep Trophy, Gill needs to be aware that there is a lot of competition for the middle order slots.
Rusty Jaiswal lacking form
Yashasvi Jaiswal also was guilty of wasting away a good start. He stroked a fine 30 in the India B innings before hitting pacer Khaleel Ahmed straight to the fielder at point and was caught behind off the same bowler in the second innings after scoring nine.
With Kohli and Rohit coming into the Bangladesh Test series without any match practice, the onus will be on Gill and Jaiswal to make most of their practice against the red ball in Duleep Trophy.
Rahul back as middle order option
K L Rahul toiled hard in both innings on a difficult pitch for the batters in Bengaluru. Except for Musheer Khan, who looked on a different level as he stroked a magnificent 181 no other batter even came close to scoring a century in the India A vs India B match.
Rahul worked hard for his 37 from 111 balls as he showed desperation to spend time out in the middle and get his batting rhythm back.
In the second innings too, he showed a lot of application to score a patient 57 from 121 balls, which helped him make it back to the Test squad.
Rahul last played in the first Test against England in Hyderabad in March after which he was ruled of the rest of the series with injury.
Sarfaraz stakes middle order berth
His younger brother Musheer Khan stole the limelight, but Sarfaraz Khan also showed his batting prowess.
Sarfaraz, who scored a century in each innings in his debut Test against England in Ranchi, smashed a brilliant 46 from 36 balls to retain his place in the middle order for the Bangladesh Tests.
It remains to be seen if he continues to be part of the middle order ahead of Rahul, who showed great application on a tough wicket during the Duleep Trophy match.
Pacer Akash Deep excels
Among the pacers, Akash Deep kept himself in the frame with a nine wicket haul for India A in the Duleep Trophy match, including 5/56 in the second innings.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj likely to be picked as the two frontline pacers, Akash Deep is the frontrunner for the third seamer's slot.
Navdeep Saini, who claimed five wickets in the match along with a dogged fifty (56), will feel unlucky to miss out, while Khaleel and Mukesh Kumar, who both claimed five wickets also did well.
Surprise maiden India call-up for Dayal
Yash Dayal earned his maiden call-up to the Indian Test for the opening match against Bangladesh. He claimed four wickets in the Duleep Trophy match for India A while his first class figures read 76 wickets in 24 games.
Dayal's rise has been incredible after getting hit for five consecutive sixes in the final over by Rinku Singh during IPL 2023 last year.
His selection is also a shrewd move by the selectors as they look to groom a quality left-arm pacer for the five Test series in Australia later this year.
All-rounder Axar shines in Duleep Trophy
With India likely to go in with three spinners, Axar boosted his chances of making it to the playing XI with a fine showing with both bat and ball in the Duleep Trophy.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to be the two frontline spinners, while the third spinner could be a difficult choice between all-rounder Axar or wicket-taker Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep is unlikely to be judged on his Duleep Trophy showing where he toiled hard for figures of 1/82 in 21 overs on a pitch assisting the pace bowlers in Bengaluru.
Photographs: BCCI Domestic/X
