The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the national Test squad for the upcoming one-off match against Afghanistan, featuring a high-profile return for batter Tawhid Hridoy. The five-day contest is scheduled to begin on 9 October in the United Arab Emirates, marking a fresh chapter for the national team in unfamiliar territory.
Hridoy earned his recall on the back of a historic performance for Bangladesh ‘A’ during their tour of South Africa. In the second four-day fixture against South Africa ‘A’ in Potchefstroom, the right-handed batsman constructed a breathtaking, unbeaten 350 runs off 481 deliveries. His mammoth knock included 27 boundaries and 10 sixes, rewriting several red-ball records in the process.
With this monumental effort, Hridoy claimed the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi in first-class cricket, surpassing Tamim Iqbal’s long-standing benchmark of 334. He also became the first Bangladeshi player to score a first-class triple century on foreign soil. Moreover, his 350-run epic set a new record for the highest individual first-class score by any visiting batsman in South Africa, eclipsing Denis Compton’s 1948 record of 300 runs for England.
Hridoy’s marathon effort propelled Bangladesh ‘A’ to a commanding first-innings declaration at 676 for 8. South Africa ‘A’ replied with 512 in their first attempt, and the high-scoring match ultimately ended in a draw. Despite the impressive second-match display, the host side secured the two-match four-day series 1-0, having handed Bangladesh ‘A’ a heavy defeat by an innings and 413 runs in the opening fixture.
This Test recall represents a swift turnaround for Hridoy’s international career. The 23-year-old made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in June but endured a difficult start, managing a combined total of just 12 runs across both innings. That disappointing outing led to his exclusion from the squad for the subsequent tour of Australia. However, his extraordinary resilience and marathon batting display in South Africa made it impossible for national selectors to overlook him.
The upcoming fixture poses a unique technical challenge for the team. According to the BCB, this match will mark Bangladesh’s first-ever Test experience on UAE soil. Following the solitary Test match running from 9 to 13 October, the tour will continue with a tri-nation One Day International series involving Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe, set to run between 17 and 23 October.
For Hridoy, the UAE clash is more than just a return to the international dressing room; it is an immediate test of whether his record-breaking domestic form can translate into the highest tier of the sport. Having demonstrated immense patience and physical endurance in Potchefstroom, the young middle-order batter now faces the task of establishing himself in Bangladesh’s red-ball line-up.
