Bangladesh opt to bowl first against West Indies

Bangladesh have won the toss and opted to bowl first in the Antigua Test against West Indies on Friday.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz is leading the Bangladesh team in this series, making his debut as Bangladesh’s captain in Tests.

The tourists will play a two-match Test series against the hosts before locking horns in an ODI and T20I series.

Bangladesh opted for a three-pacer attack in this match, taking Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Shoriful Islam in the XI. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam is also on the team.

Hasan Murad, who is yet to make debut for Bangladesh, is overlooked despite registering a hat-trick in the practice match ahead of the main series.

Bangladesh haven’t had the best track record against the West Indies in Tests, having won just four out of twenty encounters. This time around, they’ll be fielding a rather youthful side with several seasoned players missing.

With Najmul Hossain Shanto out, the selectors have turned to Shahadat Hossain Dipu, a batsman with a decent first-class record. Dipu played 33 matches in first-class cricket and scored over 1700 runs with three centuries.

In the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh only have one all-rounder in Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who will also lead the team in this series. Relatively inexperienced Bangladesh team will be hoping to young guns to fire under new captain.

The second and final Test of the series will be played in Kingston from 30 November.

Bangladesh XI: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Shahadat Hossain, Litton Das (wk), Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam

West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Mikyle Louis, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales.