India vs Bangladesh: Challenges for Indian batting against Bangladesh's spin bowling attack

NEW DELHI: India are set to start a two-match Test series against Bangladesh on Thursday, focusing on improving their batting against spin bowling. Despite having a strong home record of 40-4 over the past decade, India's performance against spin has recently shown weaknesses.This series comes as India face a busy season with 10 Test matches and a potential spot in the World Test Championship final. Bangladesh, coming off a 2-0 series win over Pakistan, will be challenging opponents.Key Indian players have struggled against spin in recent years. Virat Kohli has averaged 30 in 15 Tests against spin since 2021. Rohit Sharma's average against spin has dropped to 44 over the last three years. KL Rahul has also faced difficulties, averaging 23.40 against spin in the last five home Tests. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate emphasized the need to refocus on this area after India's struggles against Sri Lanka's spinners in a recent ODI series.Teams (from):Bangladesh's spin attack, featuring Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, poses a challenge. However, Rishabh Pant has a strong average of 70 against spin in his last five matches. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal have also shown promise, though their recent performances were against a less experienced England spin attack. India's bowling lineup, including Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja, looks strong. The team management will consider whether to include a third seamer like Akash Deep or Yash Dayal or to stick with a third spinner, with Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel as options. Using Patel could also strengthen the lower-order batting.New head coach Gautam Gambhir aims to start his tenure on a positive note. After a mixed result in the white-ball format in Sri Lanka, Gambhir will be eager for a strong start in Test cricket.This series will test India's batting lineup and set the course for their long Test season ahead.