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IND vs BAN: 3 Reasons Why Jasprit Bumrah Should Be Paired With Akash Deep In 1st Test

Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep [X]Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep [X]

Bangladesh are all set to take on India in the first of the two-match Test series. They will come into this series confident of clean-sweeping Pakistan on their home turf. 

While the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side will look to create history in India, the home team will try to defeat them and establish dominance in the format. Also, we should not forget the WTC points at stake during the series. 

India are currently at the top of the WTC points table and will be eager to hold onto their spot with a dominant show in the series. On the other hand, Bangladesh, currently positioned in fourth place in the points table, will be eager to pull up another surprise result during the series and climb up the ladder in the points table. 

The first match of the series will start from 19th September and will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The pitch in Chennai is generally known to be a slowish and sluggish wicket, allowing the spinners to dominate, especially in the last two days of the match. The combination of these two teams during the game will be interesting. 

India have named Mohammed Siraj as a part of the squad, and they also have a young bowler like Akash Deep in the mix. The general notion might be to go with Siraj because of his experience. However, here are three reasons India should back Akash Deep for the first match instead of Mohammed Siraj. 

Akash Deep vs Siraj - Current Form

Akash Deep 

Akash Deep has been in an excellent rhythm with the ball recently. If we look at his last ten innings as a bowler across the formats, he has picked up 25 wickets. Yes, the analysis becomes a bit complicated when discussing formats, but the number of wickets he has in the last innings cannot be ignored. It indicates that he has the rhythm going for himself and is in the wicket-taking form. 

Mohammed Siraj

When we talk about Mohammed Siraj, he last featured for India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He has been featured consistently in the India Blues recently. However, in his last ten innings, he has only six wickets. One might say that all these matches were either ODIs or T20Is. So, if we look back at his last five Test innings, he has only two wickets in them. 

Conclusion

The numbers show that Akash Deep is in much better form and has a much better rhythm with the ball than Mohammed Siraj. Based on their current form, Akash Deep is a much better choice for the Indian team. 

Akash Deep vs Siraj - Nature of the Pitch

Nature of Chennai’s track

In Chennai, we can expect very little movement off the air. In fact, the batters will dominate the clash against the bowlers on the first two days of the match. However, as the game progresses and the track wears down, the spinners are expected to play a significant role.

As far as the pacers are concerned, those who try to extract something off the pitch might be more effective here than those who look for movement off the air. 

Why Akash Deep over Siraj?

Akaash Deep is more of a bowler looking to hit the seam on the deck and get something from there. On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj is a bit of a mixed bag. But he is at his best in English conditions, where there is lateral movement. Thus, on a third, fourth or fifth-day pitch at the Chidambaram Stadium, Akash Deep might be more effective than Siraj. 

Akash Deep vs Siraj - Complementing the rest of the bowling attack

We can expect the spinners to take the driver’s seat in the IND vs BAN 1st Test. India should field three spinners during the game. In that case, we will see most of the overs bowled by them. Rohit Sharma will occasionally turn to his trump card, Jasprit Bumrah, who can weave his magic on any condition on any given day. In this case, India will seek a second pacer to complement these bowlers. Who can come in and bowl some effective and fiery overs, keeping the pressure on the batters. Akash Deep seems more suited for this role if current form and rhythm is considered.