West Indies lose Joseph, Hope for Bangladesh Tests; Wickham in

The West Indies have lost fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and batter Shai Hope for the two-match Test series in Bangladesh, which begins on Wednesday, 28 October. Shamar Springer has been called in as a replacement, and the squad also has a new name in 23-year-old batter Kevin Wickham.

Joseph has been withdrawn to manage his workload, while Hope has been rested with the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers approaching.

The changes

Keemo Paul had initially replaced Joseph, but he has returned home for personal and family reasons. Springer has now been named as his replacement.

Wickham has been called up for the first time.

Bangladesh’s side

Litton Das is back after a hip injury, and Soumya Sarkar has been dropped from the squad. The board named a 15-player group, with Najmul Hossain Shanto set to captain throughout the series, as announced on the ICC website.

Bangladesh’s most recent Test was a draw against Afghanistan on 9 October in the UAE, where they made 346 and 372/7 against Afghanistan’s 240 and 346/8. Before that, they lost to Australia by an innings and 51 runs on 22 August, nine days after beating them by 9 wickets on 13 August.

What is at stake

The opening Test of the Bangladesh vs West Indies 2026 Test series is at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur and forms part of the World Test Championship cycle. Bangladesh are fourth in the table with a PCT of 55.56 after six Tests. The West Indies are eighth on 20.83 and are out of the race.

The West Indies arrive after a white-ball tour of India, which included T20I wins on 9 and 14 October, a 14-run defeat on 11 October and an ODI that ended with no result due to rain on 17 October.

Timings and where to watch

Play on all five days starts at 9:00 AM IST, and Fancode will stream the series in India. The second Test is scheduled for Thursday, 5 November, also at 9:00 AM IST.