Who will open the innings for Bangladesh in the Test series against Sri Lanka?
One of the two openers is almost certainly going to be Anamul Haque Bijoy. However, there is speculation that captain Najmul Hossain Shanto might be his opening partner. Before leaving the country, the Bangladesh captain said he saw no reason to worry about the opening pair.
But on Monday (June 16), during a media interaction ahead of the first Test, Shanto declined to disclose his batting position. He said he would rather keep that information under wraps until match day.
In response to a question about his batting position, Shanto said:
“I’ll actually tell you tomorrow where I’ll bat. I don’t want the opposition to get any clues. Miraz is still unwell. He’s improving, but a lot depends on him. If that situation gets sorted, we can go in with a good combination.”
Meanwhile, the pitch in Galle is known to assist spinners. As a result, Bangladesh’s batters might find it challenging — something captain Shanto acknowledged:
“There will be challenges for the batters here. As you said, spinners take a lot of wickets here. But if you notice, runs are also scored in the first two or three days. It’s important how we embrace that challenge. We’ve prepared accordingly, as much as possible.”
Tomorrow, Tuesday at 10:30 AM Bangladesh time, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will face off at the Galle International Stadium in the first Test of the two-match series.
This Test also marks the beginning of a new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship (2025–27).
