Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2026: Schedule, Squads and What Is at Stake in Mirpur and Sylhet
Bangladesh and West Indies have begun a two-match Test series in Dhaka, with the first Test under way at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, and the second Test to follow in Sylhet from 5 November. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, and it has already become one of the most searched cricket topics in Pakistan today, with “Bangladesh vs West Indies” and the names of Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and batter Mominul Haque both featuring among the day’s fastest-rising Google searches in the country.
For Bangladesh, this is a home series with real championship value. For West Indies, it is a chance to win away from home in conditions that traditionally test visiting teams, and to climb the World Test Championship table. Both sides have arrived with changed line-ups, a debutant in the first Test, and one notable injury absence, so the opening days in Mirpur should tell us plenty about how the rest of the series will unfold.
Here is the full schedule, both squads, the first Test teams, and what each side needs from the two matches.
Series at a glance: dates, venues and start times
The tour began with a three-day warm-up match in Dhaka from 22 to 24 October, giving West Indies time to adjust to Bangladeshi conditions before the first Test. The two Tests themselves are scheduled as follows: the first Test runs from 28 October to 1 November at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, and the second Test runs from 5 to 9 November at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.
Both Tests start at 10:00am local time in Bangladesh, which is 9:00am in Pakistan, 9:30am in India and 5:00am in the United Kingdom. Each match is scheduled over five days, as is standard in Test cricket, with the result decided by runs, wickets, or a draw if neither side can force a win in the time available.
The venues matter. Mirpur is Bangladesh’s best-known Test ground and a place where spin bowling usually plays a growing role as the match goes on. Sylhet, which hosts the second Test, offers a different challenge, with its own pitch character and outfield conditions. Teams that adapt quickly between the two grounds often decide a short two-match series.
First Test in Mirpur: Bangladesh bat first, Bishop handed a debut
Bangladesh won the toss in the first Test and chose to bat first at Mirpur, a decision that puts the early pressure on their top order to build a first-innings total before the pitch begins to help the spinners later in the game. West Indies, led by Roston Chase, will look to their fast bowlers with the new ball and then turn to spin as the match develops.
The first Test also brought a debut for West Indies left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop, who was named in the playing eleven for the opening match. It is a significant moment for the young spinner, who has been picked for a tour where slow bowling is expected to be central, and his selection shows how much West Indies value a second spin option alongside vice-captain Jomel Warrican.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, had to make a late change to their plans. Experienced batter Mushfiqur Rahim, who was named in the original 15-member squad, missed the first Test through injury. His absence removes a large amount of experience from the middle order and places extra responsibility on captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque and wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das.
The Bangladesh eleven for the first Test was Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das (wicketkeeper), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam. The West Indies eleven was John Campbell, Brandon King, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo (wicketkeeper), Roston Chase (captain), Justin Greaves, Joshua Bishop, Shamar Joseph, Jomel Warrican and Jayden Seales.
Bangladesh squad: Shanto leads, Taskin returns, Nahid ruled out
Najmul Hossain Shanto captains Bangladesh for the series, with all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz as his vice-captain. The 15-member squad, announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board on 23 October, blends experienced players with younger batters who have been given a clear run in the side.
The batting group includes Shadman Islam and Tanzid Hasan as the specialist openers, with Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy in the middle order and Jaker Ali Anik as the other wicketkeeper-batter in the squad. The bowling group is built around spin and pace in equal measure: left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and off-spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan lead the slow-bowling options, while Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain and left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam form the pace attack.
The biggest selection story for Bangladesh is the return of Taskin Ahmed. The fast bowler was rested for Bangladesh’s recent one-off Test against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates, which ended in a draw, and his return restores pace and experience to the attack. Fast bowler Nahid Rana, by contrast, remains sidelined through injury and was not named in the squad. Litton Das was included despite a recent hip injury, a selection that underlines how highly the team management rates his batting and wicketkeeping.
For readers following the wider cricket calendar, Bangladesh’s home fixtures sit alongside a busy regional schedule, including Pakistan’s cricket schedule for 2026-27, which helps explain why South Asian cricket dominates search interest across the region this week.
West Indies squad: Chase in charge, Hope rested, Wickham earns a first call-up
Roston Chase captains West Indies for the series, with left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican as vice-captain. The 15-member squad was announced in mid-October, after the team arrived in Bangladesh on 18 October for the warm-up match in Dhaka.
Two notable names are missing. White-ball captain Shai Hope has been rested for the tour, with workload management ahead of next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier given as the reason, while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph withdrew after medical consultation aimed at reducing his injury risk in red-ball cricket. All-rounder Keemo Paul was initially named as Joseph’s replacement, and Shamar Springer was later brought into the squad in place of Paul, according to the updated squad list published ahead of the series.
The most exciting new name in the West Indies squad is 23-year-old middle-order batter Kevin Wickham, who earned his maiden Test call-up after an impressive domestic season in the 2026 West Indies Championship, where he scored three consecutive centuries including a career-best 153. Opener John Campbell also returned to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the home series against Pakistan.
The rest of the West Indies squad is built around experience and variety. Kemar Roach brings years of Test fast bowling, Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales offer pace, Warrican and Bishop provide spin, and batters Brandon King, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo and Justin Greaves, along with wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva, give Chase options in different conditions. Head coach Daren Sammy has said publicly that a series win in Bangladesh would move West Indies closer to the top half of the World Test Championship table, which the team set as a goal at the start of the current cycle.
Why the series matters: World Test Championship points and home pride
Both Tests count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27, the league competition that decides which two teams reach the final in 2027. Every match in the cycle carries points, so a 2-0 series win is worth far more than a drawn series, and even a single Test victory can change a team’s position in the standings.
Bangladesh entered the series in fourth place in the World Test Championship standings, according to the International Cricket Council’s series preview, and will be looking for positive results at home to push towards a top-two place and a spot in the 2027 final. Home series are the foundation of any championship campaign, and Bangladesh will know that dropping points in Mirpur or Sylhet would make the rest of the cycle much harder.
West Indies, meanwhile, are chasing improvement after finishing the previous 2023-25 cycle in eighth place. Winning in Bangladesh is never easy for a visiting team, but it is exactly the kind of result that lifts a side up the table and builds confidence for the matches that follow. The history of this fixture also adds spice: West Indies won 2-0 on their last tour of Bangladesh, in 2021, a famous series win that Bangladesh will be determined to avenge on home soil this time.
The latest ICC rankings for October 2026 give further context for where both teams stand in world cricket, and they show why a home series against a fellow Test nation is treated as a must-win assignment rather than a routine fixture.
What to watch: spin in Mirpur, pace up front, and the Sylhet decider
The first thing to watch in Mirpur is how the pitch behaves. Bangladesh’s spinners, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan, will expect the surface to offer them more turn as the match wears on, while West Indies will hope Warrican and debutant Bishop can match them. If Bangladesh bat first and post a large total, the pressure on West Indies’ batting in the fourth innings could be severe.
The second battle is at the top of the order. Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam and Tanzid Hasan need to see off the new ball against Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales and Kemar Roach, while West Indies openers John Campbell and Brandon King face the same test against Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam. Early wickets have often decided Tests in Mirpur, and neither side can afford a collapse in the first session.
The third storyline is leadership under pressure. Shanto is leading a home side expected to win, while Chase is leading a touring side that has changed its squad and is without two senior players. How both captains use their spinners, when they declare, and how they handle the second innings will shape the series.
Whatever happens in Mirpur, the series will be decided, or at least defined, in Sylhet from 5 November. A team that loses the first Test will arrive in Sylhet needing a win to square the series, while a team that wins in Mirpur will have the chance to complete a clean sweep. For Pakistani cricket fans, the series is also a useful form guide for the region: the recent Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI in Lahore showed how quickly a match in South Asia can turn, and the same warning applies to every session of this Test series.
With the first Test already under way, the next five days in Mirpur, followed by five more in Sylhet, will decide whether Bangladesh can turn home advantage and championship ambition into points, or whether West Indies can repeat their 2021 success and leave Bangladesh with a series win that few outside their camp predicted.
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