England defeated Bangladesh to clinch the three-match ODI series in Dhaka recently with a 2-1 result. Will a similar thing transpire when the home team take on England in the two-match Test series? That remains to be seen.
Team selection is a basic requisite going ahead to a particular series. The Bangladesh cricket team couldn't cope with the Englishmen in the ODI series, but the Test series gives Mushfiqur Rahim and Co yet another chance to get the redemption.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin has taken a very calculated decision of including four uncapped players in the 14-man squad. The likes of Liton Das, Mohammad Shahid and Mustafizur Rahman are sidelined from the 1st Test match owing to injuries and this has paved the way for Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Nurul Hasan to get into the national Test team squad for the first time.
"We have taken two pace bowlers taking into account that Chittagong offers a flat pitch. We retained Shuvagata to tackle England's left-handed batsmen. We also took [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz as a specialist offspinner as we believe he has much to offer since his performance at the U19 level," Minhajul told ESPN Cricinfo.
"We have taken [Kamrul Islam] Rabbi because he has done well in first-class tournaments. He has ability to bowl fast with the old ball," he added.
For England, batsman Ben Duckett is scheduled to make his Test debut on Thursday. "I'm feeling confident so if I was to play I do feel like I'm ready," Duckett told the Telegraph. "There's always going to be a few nerves playing in your Test debut but for me I'd just be very excited to get out there," he added.
Haseeb Hameed also has a chance of picking up his first Test cap for England after some impressive showing for his team in the exhibition Test match against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI side.
Bangladesh vs England 1st Test squads
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (C), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan , Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nurul Hasan, Shafiul Islam and Shuvagata Hom.
England: Alastair Cook (C), Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and James Anderson.
