Full-strength Tigers look to end Test drought

Bangladesh haven't won a Test match in a long time. 15 months to be exact. And at home, the drought is even longer. Bangladesh last won a Test at home three years ago against Zimbabwe in February 2020. They played against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India at home after 2020, and went close to victory a couple of times but eventually failed to hold on.

Tigers' primary target in the one-off Test against Ireland in Mirpur starting from Tuesday will be to end the drought in red ball cricket. Plain and simple. They will be looking to bag their first Test victory at home after nearly 37 months. 

"It (Mirpur) is our lucky ground. We have won Tests here before. We cannot take Ireland lightly. We respect them. We will give our best. The confidence within this team keeps us in a good position. Since we haven't won here for a while, it will be a good feeling if we can win," Mehidy Hasan Miraz said during the pre-match press conference.

In the recent white ball series against England and Ireland, the Tigers developed an aggressive approach under head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in all three departments of the game. Test cricket is a different ball game, obviously, but Mehedi Hasan Miraz said the hosts will continue their positive approach from the white ball format and expect a sporting pitch for the one-off Test. 

"If you have noticed now, teams are trying to attack even in Tests. So obviously we will also try to do the same and definitely apart from the small technical changes, our mentality will remain the same. At the end of the day scoring runs matters whether it's the white ball or red ball cricket,'' Miraz said.

"'Since we are the hosts there is talk that we always tend to prepare spin-friendly pitches to do well but I think there will be opportunities for the pacers as well. We have seen the wicket. The curator is trying to prepare a good wicket so that our batters, pacers and spinners can do well and play proper Test cricket. We are planning to form the side keeping that in mind,'' he added.

The Tigers are at their full strength after a while in the longest format of the game. No wonder the BCB has taken this game really seriously. 

Shakib Al Hasan is set to lead the team along with Litton Das as his deputy. There were talks of either of them leaving early for the Indian Premier League (IPL) but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) didn't allow them so. 

Tamim Iqbal and Ebadot Hossain have returned to the side after missing the India Tests in December. But Tamim remains a doubt for the Mirpur Test due to his son's sickness. A left thumb injury has prevented Zakir Hasan from playing after his triumphant Test debut but Shadman Islam has replaced him with loads of runs under his bag in domestic cricket.

The batting order looks all but set ahead of the Test. Tamim, if he plays, is expected to be accompanied by Shadman at the top. If Tamim misses out, then Mahmudul Hasan Joy will take his place. The openers will be followed by the likes of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, and skipper Shakib. Litton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz will do the job in the lower-middle order.

The spin attack also looks set with Shakib, Miraz, and Taijul Islam looking to destroy the Irish batting lineup. 

There will be a last-minute change in the pace attack as Taskin Ahmed has been ruled out due to a side strain. Ebadot and Khaled Ahmed are likely to form the pace attack.

Ireland are playing a Test after three years and they have nine uncapped players in their squad. Three of them - Matthew Humphreys, Ben White, and Thomas Mayes - have never played first-class cricket. Peter Moor, who played his last Test for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh in 2018, is the first Test cricketer to move away from Zimbabwe and play for another country. It will be interesting to see if he makes the cut into the playing XI.

The match begins at 10 am BST.