Australia are going to host Bangladesh over a two-Test series next month, with the first game starting in Darwin on August 13. The visitors have announced the squad for the first Test, and it has a big surprise in Soumya Sarkar, who hasn’t played the longest international format for the last five and a half years.
The batting allrounder last played a Test in February 2021 against the West Indies in Mirpur, his 16th appearance in the format. Injury to regular player Litton Das appears to be the reason behind Sarkar’s selection. The 33-year-old can also bowl useful medium pace. Nahid Rana (side strain) and Shoriful Islam (hamstring) are not part of the squad either.
Rana’s absence is a big blow to the Bangladeshi team. He has been their star performer in the last several months. He is the country’s fastest pacer to date, and that very fact would have brought him a lot of spotlight in Australia. The second Test starts in Mackay on August 22, and hopefully, he will be fit by then.
“He is expected to require approximately four weeks for tissue healing, followed by a further two-to-four weeks of bowling workload progression. His overall recovery period is estimated at six to eight weeks from the date of injury,” the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.
Earlier, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed his happiness that the hosts have announced their best squad to face his team. Shanto took that as a compliment. “Normally, I have never seen anything like this before in Bangladesh cricket,” Shanto was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “When teams play against us, there are usually a lot of experiments. I would say this is an achievement for our team.
“Because they have brought such a team, it is a very big opportunity for us to see how well we can play cricket against them … it is clear that they have not taken this series lightly,” he added.
Bangladesh squad for the first Test: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Musfik Hasan
Australia squad for the series: Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Jake Weatherald, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis
