DHAKA, Nov 21, 2023 (BSS)-Visiting New Zealand will reach Sylhet tomorrow for

the first of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

They will however land in Dhaka tonight and will stay at a hotel before
boarding an early morning flight for Sylhet tomorrow.

The visitors will start practice on Thursday. The World Cup semifinalist was
supposed to play a two-day warm-up game, which later was cancelled at the
request of their board as they want the players to take some rest after a
grueling World Cup journey.

The first Test commences from November 28 at the Sylhet International Cricket
Stadium while the second and final Test will be played at Sher-e-Bangla
National Cricket Stadium from December 6.

The series is the first World Test Championship series for Bangladesh in
2023-25 cycle.

Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead Bangladesh in absence of Shakib Al Hasan who
fractured his index finger during World Cup. Liton Das who led the
Bangladesh's last Test match against Afghanistan in June was approved a
paternity leave for a month.

Veteran Opener Tamim Iqbal skipped the series while fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed
and Ebadot Hossain were ruled out due to injury.

Meanwhile Tamim's elder brother Nafis Iqbal was reappointed as the team
manager of the Bangladesh national cricket team for series against New
Zealand, the BCB's Cricket Operations department confirmed.

Nafis, the former Bangladesh opener, was working as Bangladesh's team manager
till the ODI series against New Zealand in September, the side's last
bilateral engagement before the World Cup.

During the third and final ODI of that series, while the match was still
going on, Nafis left the dressing room all of a sudden. It was later revealed
that he was excluded from the Bangladesh contingent for the World Cup.

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan,
Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan,
Taijul Islam, Naeem Hasan, Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud,
Shahadat Hossain, Hasan Morad.

New Zealand: Tim Southee (Captain), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle
Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn
Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Kane Williamson, Will
Young, Neil Wagner.