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1st Test | 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship | Marrara Oval, Darwin | 13 August 2026
Nahid Rana’s side strain has blown a hole in Bangladesh’s attack before a ball is bowled in Darwin, and Musfik Hasan is the uncapped 23-year-old getting the call to fill it. Shoriful Islam is also missing the opener with a hamstring problem, leaving Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud to carry an attack that already looks thin against an Australian side barely changed since winning the Ashes. The bigger question is whether Litton Das or Mushfiqur Rahim keeps wicket, because that call shapes the rest of the order too.
Nahid Rana will miss the entire two-Test series with a side strain the Bangladesh Cricket Board says needs at least six weeks to heal. He was Bangladesh’s most potent weapon in pace-friendly conditions, a bowler who regularly touched 140kph and troubled Pakistan earlier this year.
Shoriful Islam adds to the crisis, ruled out of the Darwin Test with a hamstring strain that could clear in time for the second Test in Mackay. That leaves Taskin Ahmed, who travelled to Perth early for specialist treatment before joining the squad in Darwin on August 3, as the senior fit quick left standing. Bangladesh’s squad grew to sixteen once Litton Das was added on August 1, and it now leans heavily on players still finding their feet in Australian conditions.
Musfik Hasan is uncapped at 23, but his first-class record carries weight. The right-arm medium-fast bowler once took eight wickets in a single first-class match, only the third Bangladeshi quick to manage the feat domestically, and he has already had three uncapped call-ups without playing a Test.
His route to Darwin runs through Rangpur Division and Mohammedan Sporting Club, alongside stints with Bangladesh A and the Under-19 side, where he returned figures of 3/52 across 28 overs. In franchise cricket, he has taken 15 wickets in 10 BPL matches at an economy of 9.90, including three separate three-wicket hauls, numbers that suggest more than a project selection. Nahid Rana’s absence has finally opened the door Musfik has been knocking on since 2023.
Bangladesh’s likely XI picks itself at the top and gets murkier from six downward. Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Soumya Sarkar open, Shadman Islam and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto anchor the middle order, and Mominul Haque slots in at five, but the wicketkeeper’s gloves are still contested between Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim.
| Player | Role | Position |
| Tanzid Hasan Tamim | Batter | Opener |
| Najmul Hossain Shanto (c) | Batter | No. 4 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim / Litton Das | Wicketkeeper | No. 6 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc) | All-rounder | No. 8 |
| Taskin Ahmed | Pace bowler | No. 10 |
| Hasan Mahmud / Musfik Hasan | Pace bowler | No. 11 |
Australia’s XI, by contrast, is close to a formality after their Ashes success, with Travis Head shifting up to open alongside debutant Jake Weatherald.
Usman Khawaja’s retirement from Test cricket is the only structural shift in Australia’s XI, and it simply pushed Travis Head into the opener’s role. Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green and Beau Webster fill the middle order exactly as they did at the SCG in January.
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood return at full strength after a lighter Ashes workload, while Michael Neser’s calf injury rules him out as cover and Brendan Doggett, Todd Murphy and Jhye Richardson all missed the Darwin squad entirely.
Marrara Oval has hosted only two Tests in its history, both Australian wins over two decades ago, and conditions in the dry season favor the bat early before the pitch slows and starts turning for spinners from around day three. Daytime temperatures should sit near 31 degrees Celsius with minimal rain risk across the five days.
The venue’s only previous meeting between these two nations came in 2003, when Australia won by an innings and 132 runs, a scoreline that still looms over this weakened attack. That surface puts extra pressure on whichever attack survives selection. A depleted Bangladesh pace group facing true bounce and a fast outfield only sharpens the debate over the AUS vs BAN 2026 1st Test playing XI, because every remaining fit quick now has to do the job of two.
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Why is Nahid Rana not playing the first Test against Australia?
Nahid Rana is out of the entire series with a side strain. The Bangladesh Cricket Board says the injury needs six weeks to heal, ruling him out of the Darwin and Mackay Tests.
Who is Musfik Hasan?
Musfik Hasan is an uncapped 23-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler from Rangpur Division. He has taken eight wickets in a single first-class match, a feat only two other Bangladeshi quicks have managed domestically.
What is Bangladesh’s predicted playing XI for the Darwin Test?
Bangladesh’s likely XI is built around Najmul Hossain Shanto’s captaincy and Mehidy Hasan Miraz at number eight. The biggest doubt is the gloves, contested between Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das.
Is Australia’s team unchanged from the Ashes?
Almost, with Usman Khawaja’s retirement the only real change. Travis Head has moved up to open alongside debutant Jake Weatherald, while the rest of the Ashes-winning XI returns intact.
When does the Australia vs Bangladesh first Test start?
The first Test begins on 13 August 2026 at Marrara Oval in Darwin. It is the first Test staged at the venue since 2004, running through to 17 August.
