Bangladesh name unchanged Test squad amid clouds over Australia series

Dhaka, Sep 28 - Bangladesh on Monday retained the squad that played against South Africa for the Australia series.

Although uncertainty still looms over Australia's chances of arriving for the tour, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) picked the squad for the first Test on Monday. Australia are scheduled to play two Test matches in Bangladesh, a news website reported.

It is the same squad that had played against South Africa in July-August.

The home team started training on Monday afternoon before the team was officially announced.

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who could not join in the BCB's Elite Players Conditioning Camp after being diagnosed with jaundice, took part in the training.

Among the 14 players in the squad, only seven trained on Monday. Six others are with the Bangladesh A team, currently playing in India, while Tamim Iqbal was not there due to personal reasons. 

The Australian team's departure from Sydney was delayed after its government warned that there was a potential security risk from militants.

Cricket Australia’s Head of Security Sean Carroll flew into Dhaka on Sunday to assess the security situation.

After a meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday, neither side would say whether a decision had been reached.

Asked whether the Test series was on or off, BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who attended the meeting, told reporters, "can’t say anything specific right now. There is still time. The series can be held on schedule if the Australian team comes with two days in hand."

The first Test is supposed to kick off October 9 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

The Bangladesh squad for Chittagong Test:

Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain), Tamim Iqbal (vice-captain), Imrul Kayes, Liton Kumar Das, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam, Jubair Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Shahid, Mustafizur Rahman.

(IANS)