Bangladesh will step onto Australian soil for a Test match for the first time in 23 years next month, and on Monday the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the 15 names it hopes can pull off one of the sport’s great upsets. Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain the side, with senior wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim and vice-captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz shouldering much of the experience in a squad still finding its feet against the world’s best red-ball attack.
A Long-Awaited Return
Bangladesh’s last Test appearance in Australia came in 2003, a 24-year gap that underlines how rarely this fixture happens outside ICC World Test Championship scheduling. The two-match series forms part of the 2025-27 WTC cycle, with the first Test starting August 13 in Darwin and the second running August 22-26 in Mackay, both venues unfamiliar to a touring Bangladesh side that has historically struggled with Australian pace and bounce.
Soumya Sarkar’s Surprise Recall
The headline selection call is the return of all-rounder Soumya Sarkar, who last featured in Test cricket in 2021. Chief selectors opted for his experience over untested alternatives, betting that his 16 Tests of exposure will steady a middle order that also includes Mominul Haque and opener Shadman Islam alongside Tanzid Hasan. Uncapped seamer Musfik Hasan earned a maiden call-up, filling a gap created by injuries that BCB officials described as having “rattled” their pace bowling options heading into the tour.
Depleted Pace Attack Raises Questions
Bangladesh’s four-pronged pace unit of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury will carry the new-ball burden, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam expected to do heavy lifting on spin-friendly surfaces if conditions allow. Former Bangladesh internationals have questioned whether an attack missing key personnel to injury can survive extended spells against Australia’s top order, particularly on the bouncier Darwin and Mackay pitches that favor pace over turn, conditions rarely seen on the subcontinent where Bangladesh play most of their cricket.
Australia Rebuilds Around Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon
Australia’s own squad announcement carried its own note of relief. Captain Pat Cummins returns for his first Test since December, arriving off a six-wicket haul in the WTC25 final, while Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc also return to full fitness. Spinner Nathan Lyon is back after a hamstring injury forced him out of the latter stages of the Ashes. National selection chair George Bailey said the panel was pleased to have its senior trio available again, noting that “Pat, Josh and Nathan… have worked extremely hard… over the past few months to return from their respective injuries.” The 13-player squad also includes Steve Smith, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Jake Weatherald and Scott Boland, with Usman Khawaja’s retirement opening a middle-order vacancy that Australia has chosen to fill with depth rather than a single like-for-like replacement.
The Numbers Behind the Mismatch
The gulf in current form is stark. Australia sit atop the WTC standings with an 87.5 percent win rate this cycle, while Bangladesh occupy fourth place at 58.33 percent, a respectable mark by their own historical standards but one built largely on results outside Australian conditions. Some analysts argue the disparity makes this series more valuable as a development exercise than a genuine title contest, giving Bangladesh’s fast bowlers rare experience on faster pitches even if the scoreline goes against them. Others counter that repeated heavy defeats on tours like this can do more harm than good to a young squad’s confidence, pointing to similarly lopsided historical results between the two boards.
What’s Next for Both Sides
Before the first ball is bowled, Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up fixture against a Cricket Australia XI at DXC Arena in Darwin from August 6-8, offering their batters a first taste of local conditions. The tourists depart for Australia on August 1, giving them roughly two weeks of acclimatization. Left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam, left out of the opening Test squad, is expected to be added for the second match in Mackay once fitness clears, while wicketkeeper Liton Das, omitted from this squad, is also targeting a return by the series’ back end. For Australia, the series is as much about form-testing their returning trio ahead of a packed WTC run-in as it is about the result; for Bangladesh, simply competing credibly on unfamiliar Australian pitches would count as a marker of progress regardless of the final scoreline.