The Bangladesh team began practice at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) on Wednesday in preparation for their upcoming tour to India at the end of this month. The Tigers will play two Tests and three T20i matches there in September-October.
Most of the Bangladesh players are currently in Pakistan, as Bangladesh's Test side and A-team recently concluded their tour there. The players are expected to return home today.
A group of white-ball players including Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain Dhrubo and Soumya Sarkar are in Bangladesh and began training. The rest of the players led by Najmul Hossain Shanto are expected to join the practice after three days of rest.
Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan will fly to England from Pakistan to play in the county circuit instead of coming to Dhaka. He is expected to join the team directly in India.
The Tigers last played a bilateral series in India in 2019, where they played two Tests and three T20i matches. This will be Bangladesh's first tour to India in five years.
After the clean sweep against Pakistan, Bangladesh skipper Shanto expressed confidence about doing well in India. "The next series against India is very important. Experienced players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan have been just brilliant and I believe they will work hard to do the same in the next series," he stated during the prize-giving ceremony.
The two Tests in the forthcoming series are part of the ICC Test Championship. The first Test will begin on September 19 at the M. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, while the second Test will be held in Kanpur, starting on September 27.
The three T20i matches of the tour will take place on October 6, 9 and 12. The venues for these matches are Dharamshala, Delhi and Hyderabad.
