'Watch out for India's new pacer matching Siraj and Shami's pace, hitting high 140s: Ganguly'

Even though Mohammed Shami is still recovering from injury and Jasprit Bumrah hasn't played a match since the T20 World Cup final, and Mohammed Siraj wasn't at his best in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, India's pace attack is still formidable heading into the Bangladesh Test series. The BCCI has announced a strong 16-member squad for the first Test in Chennai starting on September 19, including some unexpected names that have pleasantly surprised fans.

Sarfaraz Khan retained his place in the squad from the England series, and as did Dhruv Jurel. The absence of Shami meant that the returning Bumrah needed an able ally besides Siraj, and hence the BCCI drafted two young pacers, Akash Deep and left-armer Yash Dayal into the squad. One is yet to play for India, while the other has just one international appearance, and yet, Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has backed Akash to be the dark horse against Bangladesh. Akash, who made his Test debut against England earlier this year, hails from the same state as rest assured, Ganguly, and the ex-BCCI president is confident that there'll be no lack of speed from the 27-year-old.

"Akash Deep is an outstanding young fast bowler. He runs in, bowls quick, and will bowl for long periods. He is fit, I've seen him play for Bengal over a long period of time, taking wickets. He will be as quick as Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, hitting high 140s. He is one to watch out for," Ganguly said during an event in Kolkata.

Replacing the rested Bumrah, Akash enjoyed a stellar debut picking up 3/83 in the 4th Test in Ranchi, dismissing Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope to reduce England to 52/3 before Joe Root scripted a fine comeback for his team. However, Akash hasn't played much cricket since – just one match in IPL 2024 and the just-concluded Duleep Trophy first round game. Having said that, his match-haul of nine wickets – 4/60 in first innings and 5/56 in the second – impressed selectors, who thus, decided to give him another go.

While all eyes will be on Akash and Dayal for sure, no home series in India can be complete without the mention of their spinners. India have chosen a packed spin bowling line-up featuring Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel to trouble Bangladesh on the slow and turning Chepauk deck, and hence, it is likely that Rohit Sharma won't require more than two fast bowlers in the Playing XI for the series opener. Bangladesh are high on the confidence of beating Pakistan for a historic 2-0 series win, but India, Ganguly reckons, will be a different challenge for them altogether.

"In India, you will see a lot more spin. In Chennai, you will see a lot more bounce. Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar, and Kuldeep are the four best spinners in the world at the moment - it won't be easy. When you play in India, spinners have a lot more say in the game. But India are a very good team," pointed Ganguly.

"Going to Pakistan and beating them is never easy, so congratulations to the (Bangladesh) players. But India will be a different kettle of fish; India, whether at home or away, are a fantastic side with a very strong batting unit. I don't see Bangladesh winning; India will win the series. But India must expect good and tough cricket from Bangladesh because they are coming into the series with a lot of confidence after beating Pakistan in Pakistan," he added.