Tigers to warm up against India A

Bangladesh will play a two-day warm-up game against India A at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad before their scheduled one-off Test against India next month.

While the dates and the venue of the Test, from February 9 to February 13 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, were confirmed a while back, there was uncertainty surrounding the warm-up game. In fact, a warm-up game was supposed to take place initially. It was only added to the tour later on.

The squad for Bangladesh's tour is expected to be announced on February 1. The team will depart for Hyderabad the very next day and play the warm-up game from February 5 to 6. They are scheduled to return home on February 14.

This is the first time ever that Bangladesh will be playing a bilateral series in India. India is the only Test nation not to have hosted Bangladesh since the Tigers got their Test status in 2000. Emotions are a little mixed among fans and pundits across the country with regards to this tour.

While many have deemed this series as historic, there are several who are disappointed at the fact that it will feature just a one-off Test.

Bangladesh will go into this series on the back of an 8-0 drubbing in New Zealand by the hosts across formats. While there were a few good performances there, they just could not manage to hold on to the momentum.

Changes in the squad are not likely. As of now, Bangladesh are focusing on retrieving their injured players. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, top order batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque and pacer Mustafizur Rahman missed out on the second Test due to injury concerns. They are all under the scanner at the moment and are expected to give a fitness test, along with the other players of the team, on January 31.