Big picture

A Test match between two nations will be played in one of the premier cricket stadiums, and in front of a live TV audience. If this is considered as enough of a context, then the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan one-off Test is relevant. Otherwise, sandwiched between the World Test Championship final and the upcoming Ashes, this contest in Dhaka, being held bang in the middle of Bangladesh's monsoon season, struggles to gain significance for their fans.

The Future Tours Programme originally had this series scheduled as a two-match affair, before one Test was cut off. That, perhaps, is an indication that even the solitary Test seems out of place, not least when both sides will be rather more keenly looking forward to the ODI World Cup, which is less than four months away.

Form guide

Bangladesh WLLLLL(last five completed matches; most recent first)
Afghanistan WLLWW

In the spotlight

The green pitch in Mirpur would put the onus on Bangladesh's fast bowlers to come up with a match-winning showing. Taskin Ahmed is considered the leader of the pack, which also includes Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and the uncapped Musfik Hasan. A three-man pace attack is most likely against Afghanistan, although coach Chandika Hathurusinghe hinted that Bangladesh might even consider fielding four pace bowlers.

Team news

Bangladesh will be forced to make at least two changes, with Shakib and Tamim out. On Monday, Litton said that he would like to go with five bowlers although it is unlikely that Taskin Ahmed will be brought back so soon after recovering from a side strain.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Ebadot Hossain

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Ibrahim Zadran, 2 Abdul Malik, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Bahir Shah, 6 Karim Janat, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Amir Hamza, 9 Yamin Ahmadzai, 10 Izharulhaq Naweed, 11 Zahir Khan

Pitch and conditions

There was a surprising tinge of green on the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch when the ground staff unveiled it amid the rain breaks two days before the game. And if the forecast turns out to be true, there is likely to be a number of rain interruptions throughout the five days. Not much pace and bounce is expected at the venue.

Stats and trivia

Quotes

"The expectation is high. We are here to play good cricket, and want to win the game. Yes, we had a gap because the last time we played [was] against Zimbabwe two years ago. [But] we play domestic first-class games, and lots of players are involved in that."
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi remains hopeful despite a lack of exposure to Test cricket

"Most of our players played against West Indies A recently. Many have been playing cricket quite regularly. Some of us have also been playing one-day cricket recently. I think if we can do a mental shift, we won't have too many problems."
Bangladesh's stand-in captain Litton Das is confident of their build-up