A full-strength Australia squad for the forthcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh is a testament to the recent progress, believes Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.

He also wants to take that as an achievement for the side.

Bangladesh will play two Tests in Darwin and Mackay next month. This will be Bangladesh’s first bilateral Test series in Australia since 2003 and first bilateral series since 2008.

Australia are scheduled to play as many as 20 Tests in the next 11 months, but they have recently announced the squad for the series, with captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon all returning from injury.

Shanto stated that they were used to an opposition like Australia experimenting against them, but this time this was something new.

He was attending the final of the cricket event’s national round of Notun Kuri Sports at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday, where Rajshahi Boys emerged champion, beating Rangpur Boys.

‘Normally, I haven’t seen anything like this in Bangladesh cricket before. Teams often try different experiments when they play against us. But I’d say this is an achievement for us as a team,’ Shanto told reporters.

‘The fact that they have announced such a strong squad is a great opportunity for us to see how well we can perform against them. I believe we’ve already established ourselves as a competitive Test side because, if you look at the opposition’s squad, it’s clear that they haven’t taken this series lightly,’ he added.

Australian media have already been publishing articles on the prospect of the intriguing duel between two strong pace bowling attacks, as Bangladesh have recently gained prominence in this regard.

However, Nahid Rana’s participation at the start of the series was under doubt after he sustained a back injury during Bangladesh’s Zimbabwe tour.

Left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam also suffered a hamstring injury during the same tour, but he could recover in time to make himself available for the second Test. Shanto also faced questions regarding his peers’ injuries.

‘Those decisions will actually be taken by the physio, the trainer and the management group, and they are managing it that way. Beyond that, there is not much more to say,’ he said.

Khaled Mahmud, who captained Bangladesh in the only Test series in Australia so far, stated that Bangladesh would have a big opportunity in doing well down under.

‘This challenge is exciting. The important thing is that our team is playing good cricket at the moment, so it’s a great opportunity for us to perform well. But Australia are always a very dangerous side in Australian conditions,’ said Mahmud, who was appointed the age-level consultant of the Bangladesh Cricket Board recently.

Bangladesh also pointed out that there were a lot of differences between his side—which suffered two innings defeats in 2003—and the current one.

He said, ‘To be very honest, it’s cricket, so nothing should come as a surprise. Anything can happen in this game. But definitely, this Bangladesh team is different from the one in the past. I’d say the boys are playing very good Test cricket now.’

‘That said, I think our top-order batting will be absolutely crucial, especially in Australian conditions. Australia’s pace trio are obviously very dangerous. They’re world-class bowlers—arguably three of the best fast bowlers in the world—so that challenge will always be there for us,’ he added.

Mahmud also said that Australia would pose a great opportunity for Bangladesh to bounce back from the recent debacle in Zimbabwe, where they suffered an innings defeat in the one-off Test.

‘I believe in our ability to play good cricket. We weren’t at our best in the last Test against Zimbabwe, but I think this Australia series is a great opportunity for us to bounce back. More than anything, I want to see how well we can fight against a team like Australia.’