Talk about a surprise pick and a comeback. Abhinav Mukund, the forgotten man, found a place in the India Test squad for the one-off Test match against Bangladesh.
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The selectors went with a 16-man squad for the Test against Bangladesh, which will be played in Hyderabad from next week.
With India dominating both New Zealand and England in home series' this season, Virat Kohli's men will be a confident unit, with the one not-quite-fully-sorted-out position that has troubled them throughout – be that with injuries or a lack of form – being the opening slot.
While M Vijay and KL Rahul should get into the playing XI, as long as they are fit, Mukund has been brought in as cover. Gautam Gambhir had a go in the series against New Zealand, but the left-hander failed to impress.
Parthiv Patel played as an opener in a couple of Test matches against England, owing to injuries, but with Shikhar Dhawan not exactly setting the stage on fire at the moment, the selectors have decided to reward the Tamil Nadu man.
Mukund, who is still only 27, last played for India in 2011, when India toured England, with the Tamil Nadu opener making scores of 0 and 3. The left-hander also made his debut in the same year, against the West Indies in Kingston, with his entire Test career so far spanning a couple of months and five matches.
In those five Tests, Mukund, who scored four centuries in the Ranji Trophy this season, has scored 211 runs, at an average of 21.10.
Parthiv is unlucky to miss out, but the chief selector MSK Prasad did admit a few days back that Saha, who missed the last three Test matches against England through injury, remains the first choice. Saha made an impressive comeback, striking a double century in the Irani Cup and guiding the Rest of India team to victory over Parthiv's Gujarat.
Indeed, a case could have been made about Parthiv acting as opening and wicketkeeping cover, but the selectors decided to go with a specialist opener in Mukund.
The rest of the squad makeup is along expected lines, with Amit Mishra getting another opportunity as the back-up spinner, while Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ajinkya Rahane are the other players making a return from injury in to the Test squad.
It will be interesting to see if Rahane walks back into the playing XI, considering Karun Nair scored a triple century in India's last match.
Mohammed Shami, though, is still in recovery mode, so the fast bowler was not considered.
India squad for one-off Test against Bangladesh:
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Abhinav Mukund, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
