The Bangladesh national cricket team will begin their West Indies tour with a Test series. This longer-version BAN vs WI 2022 series is part of the ICC Test Championship, so it's crucial for both sides. The West Indies team is full of confidence following their recent Test series triumph over England. On the other hand, Bangladesh's team is under pressure after losing two straight series against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Despite this, the hosts should not discount the visitors, as there are several reasons for Bangladesh to be confident in their ability to defeat the Windies in the series.
Why should Bangladesh expect to win the Test Series against the West Indies?
There are several good reasons for Bangladesh to be optimistic heading into the West Indies series. The team management should highlight these positive aspects prior to the match and instill confidence in the cricketers to give their all on the field. Let's look at five reasons why Bangladesh may win the Test series against the Caribbean team.
Captaincy of Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan’s record against the West Indies as Test Captain has been pretty solid. Bangladesh have lost two and won three matches against the West Indies under his captaincy. In fact, Shakib Al Hasan managed to win his very first Test match as captain, which was against West Indies at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.
Read Shakib Al Hasan's Captaincy Record in Test Cricket: An Overview
So, BCB’s decision to change the captaincy role just before the West Indies series could prove to be fruitful for the Bangladesh Test team. An experienced Shakib can properly guide the team to a series victory over the Windies and enrich his record against the Caribbean side even further.
Shakib Al Hasan's Test Captaincy Record Against West Indies
| Match | Won | Lost | Draw |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read BAN vs WI Test Series 2022: Five potential Bangladesh players to watch
Bangladesh’s Overall Test Record against West Indies
Bangladesh have won a total of 16 Test matches since making their debut in November 2000. Half of Bangladesh’s Test wins are against the Zimbabwean Test side. Not only that, 25% of Bangladesh’s Test wins have also come against the West Indies Test team. Apart from Zimbabwe, Bangladesh’s only overseas Test series victory has come against the West Indies in 2009. So, given their success rate against the West Indies, Bangladesh has a good chance of defeating the Windies in the upcoming BAN vs WI 2022 Test series.
Bangladesh’s Test Record against West Indies
| Match | Won | Lost | Draw |
| 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read WI vs BAN Test Series 2022: Who has better record?
West Indies’ Poor Record against Spin Bowling
Traditionally, West Indians are not well-equipped to face spin bowling. Besides, most of the players in the current Test squad are inexperienced. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has two world-class spinners in Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam. These two spinners can cause a lot of problems for the Windies batting line-up. If Shakib and Taijul can execute their game plan properly against the Caribbean side, Bangladesh definitely have a genuine chance to clinch the series.
The Absence of Jason Holder and Kemar Roach
All-rounder Jason Holder will not be part of the Bangladesh series as he was granted permission to skip all the Test, ODI, and T20I series to have some rest and recover his fitness. On the contrary, Kemar Roach’s participation in the first Test is under cloud due to an injury. Both the players made a critical impact during the England series. Therefore, the Windies will surely miss them in the upcoming Test series. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will attempt to take advantage of their absence in order to dominate the hosts.
Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: SWOT Analysis of Two Teams
West Indies’ Poor Record at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet
The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet will host the second Test match between Bangladesh and the West Indies. Surprisingly, the West Indies have a bad record on this ground. They have lost four times, drawn four times, and only won one at this venue. The sole win for the West Indies at the stadium came against Bangladesh. Oppositely, Bangladesh have lost one match and drawn one at this ground. As a result, the visitors will be inspired by the hosts' poor record at the venue.
Aftermath
Winning a bilateral series on Caribbean soil is difficult, as seen by England's recent 1-0 Test series loss to the West Indies. So, why should Bangladesh hope to beat the West Indies in the upcoming Test Series? All-rounder, Jason Holder has been granted leave and will be unavailable for the whole Bangladesh series. In addition, Shakib Al Hasan's captaincy record against the West Indies and Kemar Roach's unavailability in the first Test would be crucial for the Tigers in their bid to win the Bangladesh versus West Indies Test 2022 series. Bangladesh should be confident heading into the West Indies series, despite having a difficult time in their recent longer format series.
Read ICC Player of the Month for May 2022: Check Out the Nominees