After so many calculations, BCB announced a 14-man squad on Saturday for the only Test against Ireland. Though Shakib and Litton have been expecting to attend the IPL, they are selected as captain and vice-captain. Bangladesh vs Ireland test match will take place from April 4 to April 9 at Dhaka. Let’s take a look at the preview Bangladesh vs Ireland Test 2023.
Analysis of Bangladesh Test Squad Against Ireland
Ireland has played only three Tests since receiving Test status. The last match was almost three and a half years ago. Against teams that lag behind in strength and experience, there is an opportunity to experiment. There is also the matter of seeing someone playing outside the regular eleven. But Bangladesh Cricket Board is not walking that way as they have announced a squad with top players, including Shakib and Litton. According to selector Abdur Razzak, they want to get a big win against a small opponent. And that is why Bangladesh will play with full strength.
However, there are some changes in the Bangladesh squad. Yasir Ali Rabbi, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Nasum Ahmed, and Rejaur Rahman Raja have been dropped from the team that played against India. Also, Zakir Hasan, who scored a century in the Test debut, is out due to injury. Zakir's injury opened the luck for Sadman Islam. The left-handed opener returned to the national team after a year.
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On the other hand, regular opener Tamim Iqbal, who could not play in the India vs Bangladesh series due to injury, has returned to the Test team. Pacers Ebadot Hossain and Shoriful Islam also returned to the team. Shoriful and Ebadat were not in the India series due to injuries. Both returned to the squad for the Ireland Test. Rejaur and Nasum, who are waiting for their Test debut, could not make it to the team because of Shoriful and Ebadat’s return.
The Irish could not give a big fight except winning the last T20 in Bangladesh this time. They did not get any chance at all in the ODI series. The same happened in the first two T20Is. The last match was only a consolation win. But that does not reduce the fear of doing well in the Test. That is why Bangladesh doesn’t want to take any risk, as this is the only Test.
Bangladesh Squad
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Litton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy.
Read More: Bangladesh Announce Squad for Ireland Test
Players to Watch
Among these 14 players, fans are expecting more from a few players, such as Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mehidy Hassan Miraz.
Litton Das
Litton’s performance in the series against India did not live up to expectations. But he got good news after scoring a half-century in the last inning. The stylish batsman touched his career-best position in the ICC Test batsmen rankings, which is also the best in Bangladesh's 22-year Test history.
In the weekly update of the ICC rankings, Litton was at number 12 after the India series. He rose to twelfth place in March 2022. His ranking remained the same after finishing the Test against Sri Lanka in May at Mirpur. No other batsman from Bangladesh has ever climbed so high in the test ranking. Now he is at 14 with 702 ratings. So, it is expected that Litton will climb up in the test ranking again.
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Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib contributed tremendously in the last test series against India. With the bat, he scored 87 runs but could not take any wickets in the first match. However, he performed well with balls in the second game, as he took 6 wickets.
However, he could not contribute well with bats in the second match. Shakib has had great form, as he proved in the England and Ireland series. And we can expect excellent performance in Test too. Currently, Shakib is at number 3 allrounder in the ICC Test ranking.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the highest wicket-taker for the Bangladesh team in 2022. Miraz took 31 wickets in Tests and played 8 matches. He gave 1030 runs off 2061 balls. Therefore, Miraz took 1 wicket in every 33 balls. He also did excellent in the most recent test series against India. He took 11 wickets against India. And he is certainly waiting for Ireland to give his best.
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Final Words
It is expected that the BAN vs IRE 2023 test will be a one-sided match as Bangladesh is more experienced than young Ireland. And BCB wants to achieve a big win as they have announced an experienced team consisting of top players. So, this test squad may impact overall team selection for test cricket in the future.