Dhaka, Dec 4: Bangladesh's acting skipper Litton Das started his captaincy career on a positive note as he won the toss and elected to bowl first in the opening ODI against India on Sunday (December 4) here at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur.
India have, meanwhile, handed ODI debut cap to young pacer Kuldeep Sen. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI side and KL Rahul is going to perform the wicketkeeper's duties in the three-match series. All-rounder Axar Patel, who suffered a blow to his chest during the practice session, was not available for selection for the first game.
After winning the toss, Das said, "We are going to bowl first. Looks like it could be sticky for the first ten overs, that's why we are bowling first. Three seamers and two spinners for us. We want to follow the process and play good cricket."
India captain Rohit Sharma - who is making his comeback after being rested for the New Zealand series - said, "To be honest I was not sure (on the bat or bowl first). The pitch seems to have some moisture, so we would have bowled first too. With some injuries and a few issues, we got four all-rounders playing. Washington, Shardul, Shabaz, Deepak Chahar. Kuldeep Sen is making his debut. Myself, Shikhar and Virat up the order. KL Rahul will keep wickets. We hardly played many games in New Zealand, but we fought well. Some of the guys batted really well. World Cup is still far away, we don't want to look too far ahead. We want to focus on what we have in hand and play accordingly."
Bangladesh: Litton Das(c), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain.
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Sen.