Bangladesh bat first against West Indies

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite invited Bangladesh to bat first after winning the toss in the first Test, which starts today at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

With the match, Shakib Al Hasan will start his captaincy for the third time but this time in a bid to usher a new era after Bangladesh struggled to get their feet in this format.

Bangladesh included fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman who played this format last in February last year. Spin-allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz is also back to the side after missing the last series against Sri Lanka at home, reports BSS.

Nurul Hasan Sohan who was also included into the side after Mushfiqur Rahim's replacement Yasir Ali was ruled out due to back injury will keep the wicket instead of Liton Das.

Inform Liton has recently asked to have a rest from wicket-keeping in Test match as he had to often come in the crease earlier than anticipation due to Bangladesh's familiar top order collapse.

However, Bangladesh captain Shakib was not too much disappointed after being asked to bat first but he made clear he would have bowled first.

"We would have bowled first. I don't mind batting first. Looks like a good wicket. The first hour might be tough. No debuts, there are some exciting fast bowlers. We need to put our hands up and bat through the tough stages," Shakib said after the toss.

West Indies meanwhile had news to savour. Fast bowler Kemar Roach who wrecked havoc on Bangladesh batting line up in the last series between the two sides here in 2018 is back to the side after passing the fitness test, much to the delight of the Caribbean side.

His return also gave the side some experience which West Indies lacked after most of the senior players missed out the series due to various reasons.

West Indies however have a debutant in the side in Gudakesh Motie who is a left-arm spinner.

Brathwaite felt winning toss is blessing for them as the wicket has some moisture on it.

"We are gonna have a bowl. The pitch has a bit of a moisture, we want to utilise that. We got to be disciplined as a fast bowling unit. Gudakesh Motie makes his debut, excited. The conditions, especially day one, it can spin a bit. He's looking forward to this opportunity. We want to make the Caribbean people proud," Brathwaite said.

Line Ups:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Liton Das, Nurul Hasan Sohan (w), Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), John Campbell, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva (w), Raymon Reifer, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Gudakesh Motie and Jayden Seales.