Bangladesh squad for India Test series: Uncapped Jaker Ali named in place of injured pacer Shoriful Islam

Bangladesh on Thursday announced their 16-man squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against India, bringing in uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali in place of the injured pacer Shoriful Islam. Shoriful has been recovering from a groin injury which kept him out of the second Test against Pakistan in August.

His absence is the only change from the Bangladesh squad that beat Pakistan 2-0 to achieve a historic Test series victory.

Maiden Test call-up for Jaker Ali 

Instead of going for a like-for-like replacement for Shoriful, the selectors have handed a maiden Test call up to Jaker, who has represented Bangladesh in 17 T20 Internationals, debuting during the Asian Games last year. He has played 49 first-class games, collecting 2,862 runs at an average of 41.47, including four centuries and 19 half-centuries.

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Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who also suffered a groin niggle during the Pakistan tour, has retained his spot. The Test series starts on 19 September in Chennai, followed by the final Test in Kanpur from 27 September.

Where teams stand in WTC standings

The two match-series is a part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. India and Australia occupy the top two spots in the WTC table currently, while Bangladesh is lurking in fourth place.

Bangladesh squad for India Tests: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan (wk), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali (wk), Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Taijul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Nayeem Hasan and Khaled Ahmed.

With inputs from PTI