With India naming a full-strength squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, the visitors will know they face a stiff challenge if they are to make their mark in their first match in this format in India.
India vs Bangladesh Test match schedule
The match in Hyderabad will kickstart another long round of Tests for India, with four more to come, after this, against Australia.
India, though, will know they cannot worry about preparing for the Australia series right now, with all the concentration and focus needed to stay on Bangladesh.
The selectors went with a 16-man squad for this only Test against India's neighbours, with Virat Kohli again continuing as captain.
Ajinkya Rahane, Jayant Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha are some of the players making their returns from injury, while there was also a surprise recall for Abhinav Mukund.
The left-handed opener, though, is unlikely to play in this Test match against Bangladesh, unless there is an injury to the preferred openers Vijay and KL Rahul. Going by the recent injury troubles that India's openers have had, however, a comeback into the playing XI for Mukund cannot be entirely ruled out.
India will also have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to call upon for this Test match after the two spinners were rested for the T20 series against England. Ashwin and Jadeja are the key for India in these conditions and Kohli will hope the break has helped them recharge their batteries and return with a fresh mind and body.
Mental strength is what Bangladesh will need if they are to upset India in this Test match. Apart from that, they need their senior players to step up.
Tamim Iqbal needs to give Bangladesh a solid opening with the bat, especially with Imrul Kayes ruled out of this Test match with a thigh injury – Mosaddek Hossain has been called up as the left-hander's replacement, after the opener picked up the problem in the practice match against India A – with the onus on the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan to make big scores.
Putting on a strong total will give them a chance of applying pressure on the India batsmen. However, they also need to bowl better than they did in the warm-up match against India A.
The fast bowlers need to set the tone to make sure there isn't too much pressure on the spinners to take the wickets. Shakib will always pose a threat, but it will be interesting to see how the teenager Mehedi Hasan fares against India's strong batting lineup.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (C), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Subashis Roy, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi.
