Vishwas Puri
The Indian team has already started their preparation camp in Chennai for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, which will be kicking off from 19th September. Majority of players have joined the camp. Gautam Gambhir, Morne Morkel, Abhishek Nair and the rest of the coaching staff have joined. Rohit Sharma, who will be leading the Indian side, has also checked in.
Alongside India, Najmul Hossain Shanto led Bangladesh side, which is currently at no.4 in the WTC table, has also arrived Chennai on Sunday. One of the major hurdles for India in white-washing the Test series will be Nahid Rana, a 21 year old right-arm fast bowler, who is capable of bowling deliveries at a speed more than 145 Kmph consistently. In addition to his pace, his height of 6 feet 5 inches gives him an extra edge providing him an additional bounce at a good length. Despite having a small International career, he is being considered a major threat for the Indian team in the forthcoming series. He played a prominent role in Bangladesh’s historic 2-0 win over Pakistan in Pakistan. The Pitch for the first match in Chepauk is not likely to be a rank-turner. As of now, there is a slight amount of grass evident on the pitch which concludes that the pitch might favor bounce, therefore making Wahid Rana more lethal to play against.
To tackle this threat, India has introduced a domestic bowler, Gurnoor Brar in the nets. The main reason behind his call up for the national side as a net Bowler, is his height of 6 feet 4.5 inches and a bowling action similar to that of Nahid Rana. Gurnoor Brar has only played 5 first class matches and 1 list A and T20 each. He has also played a match for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 against LSG where he could prosper well and conceded 42 runs in just 3 overs at an economy rate of 14.00. This strategy was suggested by the new bowling coach Morne Morkel, to introduce a bowler like Wahid Rana and simulate his bowling in order to face Wahid Rana with ease in the series.
In addition to Gurnoor, a number of players have been drafted as net bowlers, such as Himanshu Singh from Mumbai, who has a bowling action similar to R. Ashwin. S.Ajit Ram, A slow left-arm bowler from Tamil Nadu has also been introduced in the nets.
