Bangladesh cricketers hunting landmark 1st WTC final appearance during series with West Indies

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh cricket captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is urging his team to concentrate on the upcoming West Indies Test series, rather than the possibility of a World Test Championship (WTC) final. The four-nation tournament begins on Wednesday. Currently sitting in the fourth position in the 2025-27 WTC standings, Bangladesh must secure at least four wins and one draw from their remaining six matches to remain in contention for the inaugural WTC final.

The Bangladeshi squad has played six matches so far, winning three, losing two and drawing one, with three of those victories coming against Pakistan and another historic win in Australia.

Despite losing a Test to Zimbabwe and drawing with Afghanistan, both not part of the WTC, Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons remains optimistic. He believes the team's ambition to reach the WTC final will motivate them throughout the series. In recent history, Bangladesh and West Indies have faced each other 11 times, with Bangladesh emerging victorious twice in 2009 and 2018.

West Indies leads the head-to-head record with eight wins and one draw, while Bangladesh has claimed five wins and lost 15 in 22 Test matches between the two sides. West Indies secured its most recent Test series triumph in Bangladesh in 2021. As the eighth-ranked team in the WTC standings, this West Indies series represents its final assignment in the current cycle.