Taskin named in Bangladesh squad for first Test against West Indies

Pace bowler Taskin Ahmed has returned to Bangladesh's squad for the first Test against West Indies, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) naming a 15-member squad on Friday (October 23). Khaled Ahmed is replaced by fellow pacer Taskin, who was rested for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Opener Soumya Sarkar, who was in the Afghanistan Test squad, has also been left out.

Nahid Rana will not play in the first Test because he is currently in Australia for a long-term injury evaluation. He also won't be back for the second Test.

However, Litton Das will be available for Bangladesh after suffering a hip bone injury during the tri-nation series in the United Arab Emirates.

"The goal is crystal clear. Since we are part of the WTC, these two matches are part of the WTC. Therefore, it is very important to us. Therefore, it is evident that we have not made many changes to our team. We are hopeful that Liton will be fine, despite the fact that there is still some concern. So we don't have to make too many changes. "We are confident, we are hopeful," chief selector Habibul Bashar stated.

In addition to Taskin in the pace attack, the selectors have included Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain, and Shoriful Islam. There was no place, however for Khaled Ahmed, who played against Zimbabwe with the squad featuring as many as three spinners in Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan.

"Look, right now our top three are actually Ebadat, Shoriful, Hasan, as you know as you know they are the ones we are playing and then Taskin is back. Therefore, Khaled's likelihood of actually arriving here is low," Bashar stated.

"So since we have taken four seam bowlers, Khaled didn't get a chance. But when we go to South Africa and even in the next Test match maybe Khaled can be back in the squad. However, our primary focus is on first-class cricket, which we place a high priority on. We want first-class play from those who might not be in the XI. We also won't keep Soumya Sarkar because we want him to play first-class cricket.

Jaker Ali, who is leading the BCB XI against the touring West Indies in a two-day warm-up match, has been named as the back-up wicketkeeper.

The opening Test of the two-match series, part of the ICC World Test Championship, will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur from October 28. The second Test is scheduled to begin on November 5 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam