IND vs BAN 2019: Shivam Dubey, Sanju Samson Are in the Race of T20 Call-up

India will take on Bangladesh next where captain once again MS Dhoni wouldn’t take part. First choice wicket-keeper in Dhoni’s absence, Rishabh Pant might have to face a tough competition as Sanju Samson and Shivam Dubey may be included in the squad.

Shivam Dube can replace the injured Hardik Pandya for the upcoming T20I series at home against Bangladesh. The three-match T20 series between India and Bangladesh is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on November 3 which followed by the matches at Rajkot and Nagpur respectively.

They will also play two Tests in Indore and Kolkata after that which will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship. India captain Virat Kohli is expected to take a break for the series. Sanju Samson, who has been in a great form and recently smashed a double hundred for Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is expected to earn the call-up as a backup wicket keeper batsman.

“There is no harm if both Rishabh and Sanju are there in the team. They have played together in IPL also. Rishabh has had limited success in shorter formats but he is a long-term investment and we need to persist with him,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI.

“Everyone agrees that Shivam’s bowling is still not international standard and nowhere near the kind of pace and variety Hardik possesses. But he is a left-hander, which is an advantage and can hit big sixes. Even Kohli has seen him a bit in IPL while playing for RCB,” the official further added.

KL Rahul, on the other hand, proved his worth with a matchwinning performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinal for Karnataka on Wednesday, is expected to be in the side whereas Shikhar Dhawan will get a competition from Mayank Agarwal.

However, it is not sure whether the wrist spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will return in squad as th youngsters like Rahul Chahar and Washington Sundar have done fairly well. Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed are expected to retain their places as well.