Tigers brace for challenging Test fixtures

Bangladesh are all set to brace the Test challenge from next month after competing mostly in the T20 format for the last couple of months in the buildup to the T20 World Cup, which concluded on June 29 in the USA and West Indies.

The challenge will start with a two-match series against Pakistan which will be followed by series against India, South Africa, and the West Indies respectively in the coming five months where the Tigers will compete in a total of eight Tests, two each against these four strong opponents.

India and West Indies had already confirmed the itinerary of the full-fledged Bangladesh tours, scheduled for September-October and November-December, respectively, while on Friday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially announced the fixture of their home series against Bangladesh.

According to the itinerary, Bangladesh will play the first Test in Rawalpindi on August 21-25 while Karachi will host the second Test between August 30 and September 3.

In between the India and West Indies tours, Bangladesh will host South Africa on home soil, although the itinerary of the series is yet to be confirmed.

Bangladesh haven't been in a Test mood since their last home series against Sri Lanka in March-April where they showcased an underwhelming performance in both matches to lose the series.

The poor batting display of the batters had significant impact on Bangladesh's performance in the series as they failed to cross the 200-run mark in three of their four innings. Apart from Mominul Haque and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, none of the batters could score any fifty in the series.

Although the Bangladesh national team were mostly occupied with T20 assignments, a number of Test players have been involved in camps across multiple venues of the country under the 'Bangladesh Tigers' banner.

Bangladesh, who have a disastrous record against Pakistan in Tests as they lost 12 out of 13 matches with six of those being innings defeats, toured Pakistan last in 2020 where they lost the opening match in Rawalpindi by an innings and 44 runs.

The tourists were scheduled to fly to Pakistan again to play another Test but the surge of Covid-19 saw that fixture abandoned.

Bangladesh's current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was part of the Rawalpindi Test and made 44 and 38 runs in two innings respectively, admitted that they need to provide their A game in Pakistan to do well against the hosts.

"As a team, we are looking forward to returning to Pakistan for the ICC World Test Championship," Shanto was quoted in a PCB press release on Friday.

"Playing in Pakistan is always a challenging but exciting prospect, and we will have to be at our very best to compete against a formidable side in their backyard," he concluded.

The series will also give a clear indication where Bangladesh are actually heading into the ongoing ICC Test Championship 2023-25 cycle in which they are currently placed eighth among nine teams with one win in four matches.