The Bangladesh cricket team will begin their much awaited month-long tour of the Caribbean today with a 50-over warm-up game against a Grenada XI before heading into the three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The warm-up game will be played at the Progress Park in the eastern parish of St. Andrews.
Although a warm-up game, national selector Habibul Bashar informed Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday that Bangladesh will be at full-strength for the warm-up clash. At the same time, the Bangladesh team management would also like to give the key players as much exposure as possible to get accustomed to the Caribbean conditions.
There were some issues regarding the kit of the players but Bashar, also the manager of the side, informed that all have been taken care of. He also stated that the cricketers had practiced for two days going into the game against the Grenada XI.
Earlier it was widely reported that the Tigers were unable to attend its first practice session as many of the players’ kits and other belongings were left behind at Gatwick Airport in Central London due to an unexpected delay in the national team’s flight from Dubai to Gatwick. However, Bashar said sufficient luggages had reached Grenada along with the team and the practice sessions were duly held in time.
Bashar further confirmed that although a regional team, the Grenada XI is a very balanced outfit containing several discarded players from the West Indies national side. Opener Andre Fletcher will lead the 16-man Grenada squad which also includes West Indies players like Devon Smith and Nelon Pascal.
Bangladesh will play the first two ODIs against West Indies at the National Stadium in St. George on August 20 and 22. The players will then travel to St. Kitts where they will play the third ODI and the only T20I on August 25 and 27 respectively.