With bowler Ebadot Hossain scheduled to miss the tour, Bangladesh has suffered a huge setback ahead of the Test series against Australia next month. The two-match series, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-2027, begins on August 13 in Darwin.
As he prepares to have his first child, Ebadot Hossain will remain in Bangladesh.
Another source of concern for the visitors is fast bowler Nahid Rana’s availability, who is awaiting scan findings on a side issue and remains doubtful for the opening Test.
However, there is hope that Litton Das, a batsman and wicketkeeper, would recover from a calf ailment in time for the series.
Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin on August 3, after their arrival in Australia early next month.
The practice match, held at the same location, will provide valuable preparation for the first test. Bangladesh will have a full-strength team for the series if all injured players recover in time, according to batting coach Mohammad Ashraful.
“It will be difficult in Australia, but the upside is that we will travel there early—10-12 days in advance. We will have the opportunity to play a three-day practice match, and if all of our players are fit, we should be able to perform well’, Ashraful told ICC.
Despite Bangladesh’s struggles in the most recent Test against Zimbabwe in Harare, where the team was bowled out cheaply in a crushing defeat, Ashraful expressed faith in the batting unit.
Bangladesh’s batters performed well in a historic 2-0 Test series whitewash over Pakistan earlier this year, and the coach believes they can improve against Australia.
“Our batters performed exceptionally well in the four previous Tests, despite one bad match in a series,” Ashraful explained. After playing so well over the last seven months, I don’t think there’s any reason to be discouraged after losing one or two matches. “Obviously, they’ve gained experience from playing in various conditions,” he said.
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