New Delhi | Jagran Sports Desk: The opening fixture of the three-match T20I series between India and Bangladesh will kick off at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday. The hosts will start as the favorite against Bangladesh in the series opener. India is likely to award opportunities to youngsters such as Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar to showcase their talent in the absence of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni. The visiting side Bangladesh-- led by Mahmudullah, on the other hand, will miss the presence of iconic Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is banned from international cricket for a period of two years.

The T20 series will be a part of the preparation of the next year's World T20 scheduled to take place in Australia. India will look to identify its core without experimenting with it too much. Youngsters would like to book their place in the playing XI while skipper Rohit Sharma will look forward to carry his Test form in the T20Is. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan will eye to come back to form after struggling to find runs in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.

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Among others, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and local boy Rishabh Pant will look to strengthen the middle order. Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson will be in the fray for the playing eleven. Krunal, Sundar, Kuldeep and Chahal might also feature in the 1st T20I.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have emerged as a potent Asian cricketing force, replacing struggling Sri Lanka. However, they have failed to get results in their favour in the recent past. Afghanistan defeated them in Test and T20I series winning three out of four matches. But, the team can still do well if players like Mahmudullah Riyadh, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarker deliver the goods.

The match will stream live on Hotstar from 7 PM on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi. Viewers can also watch the match on the OTT platform 'Hotstar' and 'JioTV'. Apart from that, you can also catch all the latest updates and key development of the first T20I on Jagran English.