West Indies will be without fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and white-ball captain Shai Hope for their two-Test Bangladesh vs West Indies Test series 2026 in Mirpur and Sylhet, Cricket West Indies confirmed, with all-rounder Keemo Paul called up as Joseph's replacement and 23-year-old Kevin Wickham earning a maiden Test call-up.
The absences reshape the visitors' plans for their final assignment of the 2025–2027 ICC World Test Championship cycle. West Indies sit eighth in the WTC standings, and head coach Daren Sammy has framed the tour as a chance to reach a stated target of a top-half finish.
"At the start of this World Test Championship cycle we set ourselves goals, and one of them was to finish in the top half of the rankings. Winning this series would move us closer to it. Playing Bangladesh in their own conditions will be challenging, and we're ready for that," Sammy said, according to Cricbuzz.
Why are Alzarri Joseph and Shai Hope missing the Bangladesh Tests?
Joseph, 29, was withdrawn following a routine medical assessment and specialist consultation. Cricbuzz reported that CWI opted to manage the pacer's workload, citing the greater physical demands of Test cricket and the risk of injury from bowling repeated high-intensity spells across consecutive matches. His availability for shorter formats has not been ruled out, and he will continue working with the team's medical staff ahead of a return to the longest format.
Hope was rested after an extended run across all three formats, with CWI managing his workload ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier scheduled for February 2027, according to windiescricket.com. Keemo Paul was brought into the 15-member squad for Joseph.
Kevin Wickham's maiden Test call-up
Wickham, 23, forced his way in with three consecutive centuries in the 2026 West Indies Championship, including a best of 153. According to windiescricket.com, he now has six first-class hundreds in 25 matches at an average over 40, and he comes into the middle order against a Bangladesh side that has traditionally won at home with spin but has increasingly done so with pace.
Opener John Campbell returns after recovering from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the home series against Pakistan. The rest of the squad is unchanged from the group that beat Sri Lanka and drew with Pakistan during the summer, and includes three genuine pace options, two seam-bowling all-rounders and two specialist spinners.
Roston Chase captains the side, with Jomel Warrican as vice-captain.
Mirpur and Sylhet Test schedule and what is at stake
According to Cricbuzz and windiescricket.com, the tour runs as follows:
- Squad arrives in Bangladesh: 18 October
- Three-day warm-up match, Dhaka: 22–24 October
- First Test, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur: 28 October – 1 November
- Second Test, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium: 5–9 November
A series win could lift West Indies to sixth in the ICC Test rankings at the end of the cycle, after they finished the 2023–2025 cycle ranked eighth, windiescricket.com reported.
Squad members not involved in the T20I series in India began preparations at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai under assistant coach Floyd Reifer, with Amir Jangoo joining the group after the first T20I in Lucknow.
Whether Joseph features in shorter formats before his Test return, and how Hope's absence reshuffles the batting order, remain unclear. How Wickham handles Bangladesh's spin attack, and whether West Indies can climb out of eighth in the WTC standings, will be settled across Mirpur and Sylhet.