Bangladesh call up uncapped opener for West Indies Test

Shadman Islam was rewarded for a strong showing with the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a two-day match against the visitors that ended in a draw in Chittagong on Monday.

Bangladesh selectors on Monday called up uncapped opening batsman Shadman Islam for the first Test squad against the West Indies starting later this week.

Shadman Islam of Bangladesh with the man of the match award after the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014 Plate Final match between Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on February 27, 2014 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images)

The left-hander was rewarded for a strong showing with the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a two-day match against the visitors that ended in a draw in Chittagong on Monday.

Shadman hit 73 off 169 balls with 10 fours and a six in the match, sharing 126 runs with opening partner Soumya Sarkar.

The 23-year-old has been a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket.

He tallied 648 runs at an average of 64.80 in the domestic first-class National Cricket League and played for the Bangladesh Under 19 team.

Bangladesh were looking for an opener after veteran batsman Tamim Iqbal was injured during a recent training session, delaying his Test comeback.

The first match of the two-Test series starts in Chittagong on Thursday.

The West Indies will also play three ODIs and three Twenty20 matches during their month-long tour.

Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Capt), Soumya Sarker, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Shadman Islam, Khaled Ahmed and Nayeem Hasan.