IND vs BAN 1st Test: Morne Morkel, India's new bowling coach, in attendance as Rohit-Gambhir start preparations

Morne Morkel, India's new bowling coach, in attendance as Rohit-Gambhir start preparations (X/BCCI)

India vs Bangladesh 1st Test: The Indian cricket team started their preparations for the upcoming Test against Bangladesh at Chepauk on Friday. The match will start from September 19 and India, who currently lead the World Test Championship (WTC) points table, will aim for a strong outing against the neighbours. Team skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have joined the squad. Rohit arrived in Chennai on Thursday night, while Kohli flew straight from London in an early morning flight. Apart from the senior pros, new bowling coach Morne Morkel and batting coach Vikram Rathour were also in attendance.

BCCI shared glimpses of the first practice session on social media and wrote: "The countdown starts as Team India begin their preps for an exciting home season." The images showed the entire squad listening attentively to head coach Gautam Gambhir, his support staff and skipper Rohit.

The countdown starts as #TeamIndia begin their preps for an exciting home season.#INDvBANpic.twitter.com/VlIvau5AfD

BCCI (@BCCI) September 13, 2024

India will engage in two Tests against Bangladesh, with the second scheduled to start from September 27 at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

The BCCI have only announced the squad for the opening fixture, which marks the return of Rishabh Pant in the red ball setup for the first time since his fatal car accident on New Year's eve in 2022. Apart from him, Kohli joins the side having skipper the home Test series against England earlier this year. Jasprit Bumrah too returns to the fold after a lengthy break. Bumrah was last seen in action in India's successful T20 World Cup campaign in USA and the West Indies, which was held earlier this year.

This also marks the first red ball assignment for Gautam Gambhir, who took over the role as India coach after Rahul Dravid stepped down from the position.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, head into the series after completing a historic clean sweep against Pakistan and will be beaming with confidence. If we look at the WTC points table, India lead with 68.52 percentage points. Bangladesh are placed fourth with 45.83 percentage points.