Bangladesh's chance to bounce back after tough UAE tour

Big picture: WI in better shape than Bangladesh

Bangladesh have had a chaotic build-up to their home Test series against West Indies, which kicks off with the first match from October 28 in Mirpur. They sacked their batting coach Mohammad Ashraful and a poor tour of the UAE, where they lost to Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in the tri-series and failed to win the one-off Test against Afghanistan. West Indies will look to exploit Bangladesh's weaknesses and end their World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on a high.

Bangladesh's ODI side lacks dynamic middle-order batters and doesn't have a strong spin attack either, which leaves them short of enough wicket-taking options. The Test team, though, has more experienced batters like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque to to complement the likes of captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and his deputy Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Bangladesh also have Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy as reserve batters in the squad.

On the bowling front, Shanto has a headache to deal with. Taskin Ahmed has returned to the Test side, while Shoriful Islam will also push for a place in the playing XI. They already have Hasan Mahmud and Ebadot Hossain who carried the attack against Afghanistan in their previous Test. The combination could however boil down to Litton Das' fitness - he had missed the tri-series in UAE due to a hip injury.

West Indies have arrived in Bangladesh as a confident unit after their strong performance in the T20I series in India. Although it was a different format, it has given them a stronger understanding of the subcontinent conditions. While their white-ball players were in action against India, their red-ball players spent time at a camp in Chennai before the Bangladesh tour. Batting consultant Floyd Reifer gave the preparation camp "10 out of 10" as they look to rise above the Bangladesh conditions.

Roston Chase, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge and Amir Jangoo will be key figures in the batting line-up while Justin Greaves will offer them balance both with bat and ball. Jomel Warrican, the vice-captain, will lead the spin attack while Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph will be in charge of the seam attack.

Form guide

Bangladesh DLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first) West Indies LWDWL

In the spotlight: Mushfiqur Rahim and Kemar Roach

Mushfiqur Rahim has averaged 44.7 in the six matches since becoming the first Bangladesh player to reach 100 Tests. He made a duck and 81 in the one-off Test against Afghanistan earlier this month. Mushfiqur is currently 118 runs away from 1,000 runs against West Indies.

It will be an interesting battle between Mushfiqur and Kemar Roach who have faced each other since 2009. Roach has dismissed Mushfiqur three times, which is a surprisingly low number given their long rivalry. Roach has been in good form this year, taking ten wickets at an average of 22.4, including 4 for 51 against Sri Lanka.

Team news: Will Bishop make his debut for WI?

It could be a battle between Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam to return to the playing XI, most likely at the expense of offspinner Nayeem Hasan.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Hasan Mahmud, 10 Taskin Ahmed/Shoriful Islam, 11 Ebadot Hossain

Joshua Da Silva will replace Shai Hope behind the stumps, while West Indies have the option of playing either uncapped left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop or seam-bowling allrounder Shamar Springer in their XI.

West Indies (probable): 1 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 2 Brandon King, 3 Kavem Hodge, 4 Amir Jangoo, 5 Roston Chase (capt), 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Kemar Roach, 9 Shamar Joseph, 10 Jomel Warrican, 11 Jayden Seales

Pitch and conditions: Mirpur could offer pace again

West Indies coach Daren Sammy took one look at the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch and said that it was not like the ones they had played in the ODI series last year. West Indies bowled 50 overs of spin in one of the matches, but the venue has rolled out better pitches since. There's also a forecast for rain during the first three days.

Stats and Trivia

West Indies haven't lost a Test series in 2026.

Bangladesh have won only one Test series against West Indies, in 2018.

Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam has never lost his wicket to Kemar Roach, having faced 80 balls from the quick across four Test innings.