Bangladesh vs West Indies 1st Test: Mirpur start time and squads

Key takeaways

• The opening match of the two-Test series runs from 28 October to 1 November 2026 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
• Play is scheduled to begin at 10:00 local time (04:00 UTC, 09:30 IST); the toss and final XIs were not public as of 03:35 UTC.
• Najmul Hossain Shanto captains Bangladesh, with Taskin Ahmed back; Roston Chase leads a West Indies side without Shai Hope and Alzarri Joseph.
• These are West Indies' last two matches of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle, with the second Test in Sylhet from 5 November.

Bangladesh vs West Indies 1st Test: what happened

Bangladesh host West Indies in the first Test at Mirpur on Wednesday, 28 October, with the first ball due at 04:00 UTC. Shanto leads the home side and Chase the visitors in a five-day match that ends on 1 November.

The fixture was trending in Google searches across India, Singapore, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Japan in the hours before the start, under queries such as "ban vs wi" and "bangladesh vs west indies".

The Bangladesh Cricket Board named a 15-member squad on 23 October, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as vice-captain, according to UNB via The Business Standard. Wisden reported that fast bowler Taskin Ahmed returns after being rested for Bangladesh's one-off Test against Afghanistan in the UAE, which ended in a draw, while pacer Nahid Rana misses out with an injury.

West Indies announced their squad on 13 October. Shai Hope, the white-ball captain, was rested ahead of the Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier, and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph was withdrawn for workload management after a routine medical assessment, according to the ICC. Keemo Paul was first named as Joseph's replacement, but Wisden reported on 25 October that all-rounder Shamar Springer has since taken Paul's place. Barbados batter Kevin Wickham, who is uncapped, is in line for a possible debut.

Series schedule and squads

Dates and venues from the ICC and Wisden; start times from Wisden (10:00 local, 09:30 IST), converted to UTC from Bangladesh Standard Time (UTC+6).

Bangladesh squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vice-captain), Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam.

West Indies squad

Roston Chase (captain), Jomel Warrican (vice-captain), Joshua Bishop, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Shamar Springer, Kevin Wickham.

What we know and what we don't know yet

• Known: the venue, dates, start time, both 15-player squads and the captains, from the boards' announcements as reported by the ICC, Wisden and The Business Standard.
• Known: CricTracker reported on 27 October that Mushfiqur Rahim was struck on the hand in a net session on the eve of the match; his availability had not been confirmed by the board as of 03:35 UTC.
• Not yet known: the toss result, the confirmed playing XIs, and whether Wickham debuts. Live score pages showed no toss result at 03:35 UTC on 28 October.

Background: head-to-head and the Mirpur pitch

West Indies have the stronger Test record in this fixture. CricTracker's figures show 22 Tests between the sides since 2002, with West Indies winning 15, Bangladesh five, and two drawn. Wisden noted this is West Indies' first tour of Bangladesh since their 2-0 Test series win there in 2021.

Both squads are built with Asian conditions in mind and carry several slow bowlers: Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan for the hosts, and Chase, Warrican and Bishop for the visitors. CricTracker's preview put the average first-innings total at the ground at 328 across 30 Tests, with 15 won by the side batting first.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy said the team had set goals at the start of the cycle and that "playing Bangladesh in their own conditions will be challenging, and we're ready for that," according to the ICC. The ICC reported that West Indies were eighth in the World Test Championship standings when the squad was named.

For more Test cricket from this week, see our report on the South Africa vs Australia third Test at Newlands, and follow the Bangladesh cricket team and West Indies cricket team topic pages.

What it means

For West Indies, this series is the last chance to add points in the current World Test Championship cycle, and Sammy has framed it as a step toward finishing in the top half of the table. Playing without Hope and Alzarri Joseph puts more weight on Roach, Seales and Shamar Joseph with the new ball and on Chase and Warrican with spin.

For Bangladesh, home conditions are their best chance to improve a lopsided head-to-head record, with Taskin's return strengthening the pace options and Mushfiqur's fitness the main team-news question. The toss and the first session will show how much the Mirpur surface offers early. This page will be updated as the match develops.