Daijiworld Media Network

Fatullah, Jun 10 : India begin their long journey towards Test revival with tiny steps. First up in a long and hectic international calendar will see them playing Bangladesh in a short series comprising of one Test and three ODIs. An inexperienced team India fought hard in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. The fab four were replaced by a new generation of cricketers. They were mainly fed on the T20 diet, but they showed that they can play the longer form of the game with equal ease as well.

This young and brash India was led by a captain who had seen it and experienced it all in the shorter forms of the game. However, MS Dhoni, the Test captain couldn't match MS Dhoni - the ODI skipper. He led from the front, but at times, India seemed to lack that killer punch, the aggression that made teams like Australia and South Africa - world beaters in the Test format. It is to his credit that Dhoni steered the ship, allowed the youngsters to get a feel of what Test cricket was all about before announcing his retirement and passing the baton to Virat Kohli - his long time successor, at the end of the Australian tour.

India have won the toss and have opted to bat

Kohli: 'We will bat first, looks like a pretty nice and hard wicket. It's the beginning of the full-time job, pretty excited, hopefully, we can put up a strong performance. I never thought I will be India's Test captain at 26. God has been kind, I have worked hard, at the end of the day, I have the opportunity to do something special for the team. I think a lot about the game, I like to find new ideas. It's very exciting to get into the physce of the batsmen. We are playing six batsmen, three seamers and two spinners. Dhawan replaces KL Rahul. We have Ashwin and Harbhajan as well.

Rahim: 'Looks like a flat track, but as the Test progresses, it will become slower. Unlucky to lose the toss, but we need to restrict them to a modest score. We are playing three spinners plus Shakib. We played well against Pakistan, the boys are very confident. We are looking forward to a good Test.'

Early Team news: There will be at least one change to the Indian team that last featured in a Test match, at SCG, against Australia. Illness prevented opener, KL Rahul, from travelling and he will be replaced by Shikhar Dhawan.

Ravichandran Ashwin is a sure starter. But will India go in with three spinners? If so, then both Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma will feature in the playing XI, else one will miss out. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are likely to open with the new-ball. Kohli said he is a big fan of playing five bowlers. That will mean only one of Cheteshwar Pujara or Rohit Sharma will feature in the playing eleven.

Skipper, Mushfiqur Rahim, has oozed confidence and believes his team has it in them to upstage the more famed neighbours. 'For me, playing against India gives me extra motivation as the entire cricketing world will be watching the series with a lot of interest. When we beat Pakistan in the ODI series, critics said that it was not a quality team. So there is extra bit of motivation for me to do well against India,' he said.

But it's not just India who will be playing today. Hosts, Bangladesh, have things to prove as well. While they have lifted their game in the shorter forms of the game, they have remained slack in the longer format of the game. They have the goods, they have upped their game in recent times. The comeback from behind to draw against Pakistan remains fresh in memory. The young batsmen have finally learnt the art of batting in Tests. But can they take 20 wickets? That's one area that remains a concern for this Bangladeshi line-up.

Come June 2015, Kohli will begin a new era. He's now firmly in the hot seat. There will be no MS Dhoni to guide him on his way. Thankfully for him, India will not be travelling overseas anytime soon. One can say it's a soft start as well. With all respect, Bangladesh haven't proved to be as intimidating in Tests as they have been in the shorter formats of the game. Kohli isn't taking things easy though. This is what he said just before India left for the tour. 'We are looking for a fresh start. I'm looking forward to plan what will hopefully be a good 3-4 years,' he said. Can he motivate his troops and make India a top Test team once again?

Virat Kohli was formally anointed as India's Test captain at the start of 2015. He didn't compromise his aggression, but at the same time, showed that he could adapt to the modern challenges. When Dhoni missed out in the first Test at Adelaide, Kohli walked the talk. He batted in a supreme fashion - making hundreds in both innings. India promised that they would go for the target. At tea on the final day, they were well within reach, only for the familiar Indian batting collapse to undo all the good work. When he was back as captain, for the Sydney Test, he wasn't going to make the same mistake once again. India battled hard and saved the Test. They had lost the series, but the promise of a better future was written all over.

Match Preview:

A lot has changed since India and Bangladesh last played a Test match. Virender Sehwag, who famously remarked that Bangladesh didn't have the bowling to take 20 wickets, isn't around. Nor are t

Preview:
A lot has changed since India and Bangladesh last played a Test match. Virender Sehwag, who famously remarked that Bangladesh didn't have the bowling to take 20 wickets, isn't around. Nor are the other members of the then fabled Indian middle-order. India aren't the top-ranked Test side anymore and could slip down to seventh if they lose while Bangladesh have won more Test matches in the last five years than they did before 2010. However, the hosts' proclivity to take those 20 wickets remain questionable.

After 18 months of playing only overseas Tests, India return to red-ball cricket in the familiar surroundings of the sub-continent. Virat Kohli starts his first full international season as Test captain with a one-off match against Bangladesh. Despite unfavourable results in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia and the subsequent slide in the rankings, the young Indian side showed a lot of pedigree. A win against Bangladesh should help reinforce their belief and hold them in good stead for the sterner tests to follow.

Bangladesh cricket is going through its renaissance. Their run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup was followed by a thrashing of Pakistan in the limited overs series. However, despite running their opponents close on many occasions, Bangladesh remain a work-in-progress in the longer format. A one-off Test gives them another opportunity to assess their standing.

Start Date: 10th June 2015

Venue: Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Start time: 09:30 IST, 04:00 GMT

Weather: Hot and Humid with a high of 36 degree Celsius and a 10% chance of showers.

Team News:

Bangladesh:

Bangladesh have selection issues ahead of the Test exacerbated by injury to senior batsman Mohammad Mahmudullah. Nasir Hossain, who last played in the series against West Indies in September 2014, could replace him in the eleven and double up as an off-spinner. There are also concerns over captain Mushfiqur Rahim's workload after he sustained a finger injury during the Pakistan Tests and is likely to handover keeping duties to Litton Das. Speedster Rubel Hossain's return to fitness, however, would relieve the Bangladesh supporters especially in the aftermath of Shahdat Hossain's long-term injury.

Probable XI: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das (wk) Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Shahid, Rubel Hossain

India:

India will return to the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay following KL Rahul's late withdrawal due to illness. With a mixed county cricket experience behind him, Cheteshwar Pujara should return to the playing eleven after facing the axe in the New Year's Test in Sydney. It remains to be seen, however, if he will return to his usual position at No. 3 or swap places with Rohit Sharma. The returning Harbhajan Singh is likely to partner fellow off-spinner R Ashwin to counter the left-handers in the Bangladeshi ranks while the think-tank will weigh up Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav for the second pacer's slot.

Stats and Trivia:

- Shakib Al Hasan needs five runs and a wicket to complete 2000 runs and 100 wickets in Bangladesh

- Mominul Haque stands a chance to equal AB de Villiers' record of having scored the most number of fifties in consecutive Tests (12).

Quotes:

'We have learnt in the past few Test matches but starting now, we want to start achieving the results we really want, not to go away from every Test match thinking we have learnt from it'

- India captain Virat Kohli lays down the marker when asked about his team's goals.

'I am nowhere near him, you know he is the king of all forms of cricket'

- An embarrassed Mominul Haque on comparisons with AB de Villiers.