Mushfiqur throws down the gauntlet

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has thrown down the gauntlet to Australia ahead of their two-Test series this month, vowing to fight fire with fire.

Australia have not played a Test in Bangladesh since Jason Gillespie scored a double-century as nightwatchman in 2006.

Much has changed for Bangladesh in the intervening 11 years and Mushfiqur is confident his team can spring a surprise similar to how Sri Lanka ambushed the then top-ranked Aussies in 2016.

"We have always heard that Australia play aggressive cricket. We are ready to play against them with an aggressive mindset," Mushfiqur told Cricbuzz.

"If we can use the home conditions and play to our potential, I don't think it is impossible to beat Australia.

"To be honest, if we can play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world because we have that ability.

"Earlier, we had to play well while others had to play badly if we wanted to achieve success but that is not the case now."

The Bangladesh skipper's confidence is not just bluster. In their last Test series at home, Bangladesh drew 1-1 with England, beating Alastair Cook's side by 108 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Opener Tamim Iqbal scored a first-innings century and off-spinner Mehedi Hasan took 12 wickets for the match to secure Bangladesh's first ever Test win against England.

Since then in Test matches Bangladesh have lost twice against New Zealand, once against India and drew a series 1-1 with Sri Lanka, with all matches played away.

But it is that last Test appearance on home soil – coupled with a growing strength in one-day cricket that saw the side reach the semi-final stage – that has Bangladesh full of confidence.

"When England arrived, no one counted on us or believed that we can be competitive against them, let alone win," Mushfiqur said.

"In the last two to three years, some talented players have arrived in our team who inspire us to win against big teams.

"We have that -belief in us and now we have to play good cricket for five days."

While the Australian squad will assemble in Darwin this week to prepare for the tour, an extended squad of Bangladesh's elite have been in intense training camps for a fortnight preparing for the series.

Bangladesh's strength remains in the limited-overs formats, but Mushfiqur is confident his team has the quality across the board to unsettle the Australians.

"The main challenge for us is that we play very little Test cricket, and when that happens, it becomes difficult," said Mushfiquir.

"I am happy that Australia (are coming for the Test series) and we are prepared for that. Our preparation to face them has been very good."

The captain said star opener Tamim was "incredible" and hailed the consistency in the team's batting line-up.

"The way he (Tamim) is batting for the last three to four years and the kind of consistency he has shown, it is not very common in world cricket," Mushfiqur said.

"It is a kind of inspiration for us to have someone like him in the team.

"To be honest we think our batting unit is better than some other Test playing nations. Whether in Test cricket or in other formats, our top seven is quite consistent. I think every player has developed a lot individually, and it helps the team in the long run."

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad (preliminary): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Kumar Das, Mominul Haque, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Subhashish Roy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sanjamul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mohammad Saifuddin, Anamul Haque, Abul Hasan Raju, Al Amin Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Muktar Ali, Tanbir Haider, Saqlain Sajib, Shafiul Islam.

11-17 August Australia pre-tour training camp, Darwin

18 August Australia arrive

22-23 August Tour match,Fatullah

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong