Ganesh Kendale
GWALIOR: The last time this city, known for its palaces and royal Scindia lineage, hosted an international cricket match, history was made.
On February 24, 2010, at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score a double century in ODIs-a breathtaking, unbeaten 200 off 147 balls.
More than 14 years later, international cricket is set to return to Gwalior, this time at a brand-new venue-the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium.
Located on the outskirts of the city along the Mumbai-Agra highway, this stadium will become the latest venue in India to host international cricket. This match will also mark India’s first home T20 match since winning their second T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies.
Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India, with just four players from the squad that clinched the marquee event, will use this series to begin preparations for defending their title in the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Several fringe players will get their chance to audition, hoping to make an impression like Delhi’s express pacer Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana, also from the same state and Andhra allrounder Nitish Reddy.
A major storyline will be the comeback of Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who last played for India in Nov 2021 against Scotland. A stellar performance in IPL 2024 has earned Chakravarthy a recall, where his tricky bowling could once again trouble opponents.
One surprise from the selection table was the exclusion of Ruturaj Gaikwad, despite his strong T20I record. With both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill rested, India will look to wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma to step up.
On the other side, Bangladesh, still smarting from their 2-0 Test series defeat, will be looking to hit the reset button in the T20s. With the team moving beyond the Shakib Al Hasan era, captain Najmul Shanto will need to lead by example. Bangladesh will also count on the experience of Mahmudullah.
