Tigers depart for a piece of history

A 16-strong Bangladesh squad will depart today on an 11:30am flight to the Indian city of Hyderabad, where they will be part of history when they take the field for Bangladesh's first Test on Indian soil starting from February 9.

The tour will comprise a warm-up match against India A before the one-off Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium(RGICS), but it holds much greater significance than the short duration may suggest. Although they were Bangladesh's opponents in the country's inaugural Test at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in November 2000, India remain the only Test-playing nation never to host Bangladesh for a Test in the latter's 16-plus years as a Test nation.

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The short nature of the tour also suggests that it may be an attempt on the part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to correct what has often been perceived in Bangladesh as a slight by their more established cricketing neighbours.

The lack of an invitation from India has become a bone of contention in cricketing circles in Bangladesh over the years, especially among fans, as evidenced by the extra needle whenever India and Bangladesh lock horns in ODIs, a format in which Bangladesh have enjoyed a measure of success over their opponents.

In Tests however, it has been all India, who while withholding an invitation have been generous visitors to these shores. Including that one-off inaugural Test in 2000, India have visited Bangladesh to play five Test series of varying lengths, and in those eight matches have won six and drawn two. Three of those wins were by an innings, so Bangladesh have their work cut out if they are to make an impression on the number one Test side in the world in their own backyard.

The Tigers will be boosted by the return of skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who along with top-order batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque missed the second Test on the recently concluded New Zealand tour. Mominul and Imrul have also been passed fit, but young pace star Mustafizur Rahman has chosen to opt out of the tour as he said that he is still not comfortable while bowling, having recently recovered from a shoulder surgery and taken part in four limited-overs games in New Zealand.

For their part, India have named a full-strength squad and much will depend on how Bangladesh handle the twin spin threat of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. In the three Tests played at the RGICS, India have won two and drawn one, and have never been dismissed below 400.