Cheteshwar Pujara
The experienced batsman played his last international match for India in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) last year. Pujara scored 41 runs in the final against Australia. After this, Pujara was dropped from the Test team. Pujara's batting position is number-3, where Shubman Gill now bats. Pujara was dropped from the team due to his poor performance in the last few years.
Pujara's average in the last 28 Tests was only 29.69. During this, he scored 1 century and 11 half-centuries. If we remove his scores of 90 and 102* in the Chittagong Test played in December 2022, then this average becomes 26.31. Pujara has so far scored 7195 runs in 103 Test matches at an average of 43.60. During this, 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries came from his bat.
Ajinkya Rahane
After being out for almost one and a half years, Ajinkya Rahane made a comeback to international cricket in the final match of the World Test Championship last year. The reason for Rahane's return is his excellent performance in domestic cricket and IPL 2023. However, he was released again due to average performance after his return. It is very difficult for him to get a chance in the presence of players like Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan. 36-year-old Rahane has played a total of 85 Test matches for Team India. In this, he has scored 5077 runs and his average is 38.46. Rahane has 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries to his name in Tests.
Umesh Yadav
Right-arm fast bowler Umesh Yadav has been out of Team India for several months. Umesh played his last match for India in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023. 36-year-old Umesh has played 57 Tests, 75 ODIs and nine T20 Internationals for India so far. Umesh has taken 170 wickets in Test matches at an average of 30.95. Apart from this, Umesh took 106 wickets in ODIs and 12 wickets in T20 Internationals.
Wriddhiman Saha
After Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from Test cricket, Wriddhiman Saha got many opportunities. However, he could not take advantage of the opportunities and his career went downhill. Saha played his last match against New Zealand in the year 2021. After which Saha could not return to the team. 39-year-old Saha has played 40 Tests and 9 ODIs for India. Meanwhile, he scored 1353 runs in Tests and 41 runs in ODIs. With young wicketkeepers like KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant, the doors of comeback are closed for Saha.
Ishant Sharma
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma was once an important member of the Indian team in Test cricket, but now his career is almost over. 35-year-old Ishant has played 105 Tests, 80 ODIs and 14 T20 matches for India. Ishant took 311 wickets in Tests, 115 in ODIs and 8 in T20 Internationals. He played his last Test match against New Zealand in November 2021. 35-year-old Ishant Sharma is unlikely to return to the Test team as young bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed have emerged in the fast bowling unit.
Let us tell you that the Indian cricket team has to play 10 Test matches in the next 111 days (3 months and 19 days) from 19 September. Whereas in total, apart from 10 Tests, 8 T20 and 3 ODI matches are to be played in 5 months. After Bangladesh, India has to play three Test matches against New Zealand and five against Australia on its soil.
Bangladesh tour of India
- 1st Test – Chennai – September 19-23
- 2nd Test – Kanpur – September 27 to October 1
- 1st T20 – Gwalior – 6 October
- 2nd T20 – Delhi – 9 October
- 3rd T20 – Hyderabad – 12 October
India tour of New Zealand (2024)
- October 16-20: First Test, Bengaluru
- October 24-28: 2nd Test, Pune
- November 1-5: 3rd Test, Mumbai
Indian team tour of Australia (November-January 2025)
- November 22-26: First Test, Perth
- December 6-10: Second Test, Adelaide
- December 14-18: Third Test, Brisbane
- December 26-30: Fourth Test, Melbourne
- Jan 03-07: Fifth Test, Sydney