Tigers are set to face a new Test foe as the one-off Test against Afghanistan begins today (Thursday) at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, reports UNB.
It will be Bangladesh's 115th Test and Afghanistan's third.
Shakib Al Hasan is set to be back to action after his fantastic show in the World Cup. He has led the Tigers in 13 Tests and won three of them.
On the other hand, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan is set to be inducted in Test cricket as a captain.
Both sides had unexpected time during the World Cup. While Afghanistan failed to seal any game, Bangladesh could not advance to the semifinals.
Right after the World Cup, Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka and lost the three-match ODI series 3-0.
The one-off Test comes as a platform for both sides to jump back.
"We want to win this game," Shakib told a pre-match press conference at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.
He noted that the team had not been performing well recently. "This match is very important for us. If we can win this one easily, then everything will be spontaneous for us," Shakib said.
On the other hand, Afghanistan are taking this match as a chance to tell the world that they cannot be taken lightly. Afghanistan played their maiden Test against India and suffered a massive loss by an innings and 262 runs. They won their second match against Ireland by seven wickets.
"Bangladesh are one level above us. We've massive respect for them but we aren't scared of them. They've played some wonderful cricket at home for a long time now," Afghanistan's interim head coach Andy Moles told the media on Tuesday.
"Top teams have found it hard to do well in Bangladesh. So we believe it'll be a big test for us. But if we can show application and concentration, we can hope for something special in this match."
Afghan captain Rashid Khan said they are confident.
"We definitely have the talent and skill. We just need to make sure we play in a positive manner, according to our strength and believe in ourselves," he said.
"This game is all about more patient and calmness. Once we do that, I think definitely the result will be positive," Rashid told the pre-match press conference.
Bangladesh appeared in 18 Tests at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and won only two of them while six ended in a draw.
The match will commence at 10am (Bangladesh time) and will be telecast by Gazi TV.
Squads: Bangladesh (Probable XI): Sadman Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan and Taskin Ahmed/Abu Jayed.
Afghanistan (Probable XI): Ihsanullah Janat, Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Ali Khil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (captain), Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmed, Yamin Ahmadzai and Shapoor Zadran.
