Bangladesh has suffered a major blow ahead of their Test series against Australia next month, as bowler Ebadot Hossain is anticipated to miss the tour. Commencing in Darwin on August 13, the two-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–2027.
Ebadot Hossain will remain in Bangladesh while he prepares for the birth of his first child.
Another worry for the visitors is the availability of fast bowler Nahid Rana, who is still doubtful for the opening Test and is awaiting the results of scans on a side issue. Litton Das, a batsman and wicketkeeper, may be able to recover from a calf injury in time for the series, though.
After arriving in Australia early next month, Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin beginning on August 3.
The practice match will provide crucial preparation before the first Test at the same venue. According to batting coach Mohammad Ashraful, if all of the injured players recover in time, Bangladesh would have a full-strength squad for the series.
The good news is that we will arrive in Australia early—ten to twelve days ahead of schedule—but it will still be difficult. Ashraful was reported by ICC as saying, “We will have the chance to play a three-day practice match, and hopefully, if all our players are fit, we can perform well there.”
Ashraful expressed confidence in the batting unit despite Bangladesh’s struggles in the most recent Test match against Zimbabwe in Harare, where the team was crushed and bowled out cheaply.
He believes the hitters might bounce back against Australia because of their impressive performances during Bangladesh’s historic 2-0 Test series whitewash over Pakistan earlier this year: “Our batters did really well over the last seven months.”
“You see, we can lose one or two games in different conditions,” Ashraful remarked. “One series can go wrong; one Test match went bad, but in the four Tests before that, our batters played extremely well.”
I don’t think it’s necessary to be discouraged after losing one or two games after performing so well over the past seven months. They have obviously gained experience from playing in various settings,” he said.
