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India's Test series against Bangladesh is less than 10 days away from commencing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The BCCI has named a strong squad for the assignment, with barely any surprises.
Rohit Sharma and Co. aren't necessarily a young unit. Key members of the side, including Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit himself, are on the wrong side of 30. Going forward, India will need to come up with the right personnel to replace them.
India’s squad for the 1st Test of the Bangladesh series: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
Yash Dayal, who has been called up for the Bangladesh Tests, is one such pick with an eye on the next few years. Who else is in the mix to make it to the red-ball side soon?
On that note, here are three Indian players who are on course to make their Test debut in the near future.
#3 R Sai Kishore
R Sai Kishore has been taking wickets by the bucketloads in domestic cricket, but the presence of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel has severely limited his chances of appearing at the Test level. The highest wicket-taker in the last edition of the Ranji Trophy, the Tamil Nadu skipper has played a starring role in the Duleep Trophy as well.
Sai Kishore's time with the Test team could come soon. Jadeja has been plagued by injuries at times and has already stepped away from one format, while Axar's bowling has been found wanting in red-ball cricket lately.
Soon after India's tour of Australia, the selectors might look at bringing in some fresh faces. Sai Kishore, who is easily one of the best spinners going around in red-ball cricket, will be near the top of that list.
#2 Riyan Parag
Gautam Gambhir and the team management clearly have tons of faith in Riyan Parag, who made his T20I and ODI debuts recently. The youngster has been a prolific run-scorer for Assam in domestic cricket and has what it takes to succeed in the longest format.
Not only is Parag a solid batter with an airtight technique, but he is also a hugely underrated off-spinner. He's much more than a part-timer, and the recent Zimbabwe tour showed that in detail. As India look to replace Ravichandran Ashwin and bring in the next generation of batters, the 22-year-old will be in the thick of things.
Parag should ideally spend some more time in the A setup before making his way into the senior team, but he isn't a player who'll need too much time to adapt.
#1 Harshit Rana
India are in desperate need of fast bowlers who can support Jasprit Bumrah. With Mohammed Shami still recovering from injury and Mohammed Siraj struggling with lapses in form, Akash Deep and Yash Dayal have been added to the squad for the Bangladesh Tests.
Harshit Rana is a player who is perhaps India's brightest fast-bowling talent. His consistency might not be there just yet, but he is a pacer who can get the ball to move at high speeds and also generate a fair amount of bounce. The 22-year-old can also bat a bit, as evidenced by his knocks in domestic cricket.
Given India's pace-bowling stocks at the moment, Rana might not have to wait long to make his international debut, even if it comes in the Test format.
