Bangladesh close out the current cycle of Test Championship with two Tests against the West Indies, with the first Test starting on November 22 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
The second Test starts on November 30 at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.聽
The Caribbean is never an easy place to tour. But it remains a mixed bag for Bangladesh, where they鈥檝e achieved one of their highest feats as well as suffered one of their lowest.聽
Bangladesh first toured the Caribbean for a Test series in 2004. They drew the first Test against Brian Lara鈥檚 West Indies in St Lucia. It was the first time that Bangladesh drew a Test where all five days of play were possible.聽
Three batters hit centuries for Bangladesh in that Test 鈥� Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Rafique in the first innings, Khaled Mashud in the second. It was the first time that as many batters hit hundreds in the same match for Bangladesh.聽
Rafique鈥檚 hundred came batting at number nine. Only one other batter has that record of hitting a ton batting so down the order for Bangladesh, when Abul Hasan made history by scoring a hundred on his debut by batting at number 10.聽
Abul鈥檚 record was also against the West Indies, though it came at Khulna in 2012.聽
Bangladesh, though, lost the second Test by an innings and 99 runs in Kingston on that tour of 2004.聽
The Tigers returned to the West Indies in 2009, and this time they made history by winning the series 2-0.聽
Bangladesh won the first Test in St Vincent; that was the first away Test win for them. They repeated the feat again in Grenada.聽
Though the Tigers achievement went down history, the reality was that the West Indies team was a depleted one. Their main players boycotted the series on the basis of a number of unresolved issues with the board.聽
As a result, as many as seven players made their debuts in the first Test with the captain, Floyd Reifer, who played his last Test 10 years before.
Among the seven players who made their debuts in the First Test, no one played more than six matches in their career, except one.聽
That certain pacer named Kemar Roach took centre stage when the West Indies demolished Bangladesh in Antigua in 2018.聽
Bangladesh got all out for 43 runs, and Roach took five wickets for just eight runs in the space of 12 deliveries. Roach didn鈥檛 bowl a single delivery in the second innings but was adjudged the player of the match.聽
It remained the lowest score for Bangladesh in Tests. They have never won a Test in the West Indies since 2009.聽
Bangladesh will again face a steep challenge in the Caribbean this time. They will go into the series on the back of four straight defeats鈥攖wo against India and then two against South Africa at home.聽
They will miss the captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was ruled out of the series due to a groin injury. Key batter Mushfiqur Rahim will be also be unavailable, as he has been recovering from a finger injury.聽
Shahadat Hossain Dipu has been called up as a replacement for Shanto. And in Shanto鈥檚 absence, the vice-captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, is expected to lead the time.聽
Bangladesh play a warm-up game before the Test series that starts on November 17. They will also play three ODIs and as many T20Is against the Caribbean side during the tour.