The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has set the stage for Shakib Al Hasan for his Test swansong by naming him in the first of two-match series against South Africa, starting on October 21 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The ace allrounder expressed his desire to retire from this format after playing a Test against South Africa in Mirpur but also said the second Test against India in Kanpur will be his last is he is not given security to leave the country without any trouble.

The challenges arose due to his involvement with the ousted Awami League regime and accusations of ties to a murder case. The situation is understood to be resolved after Shakib apologised for his silence during the student protests that led to the fall of the Awami League government and appealed for public support for his final Test.

Despite a horrible India series, the squad is largely unchanged with pacer Khaled Ahmed being the only omission.

Bangladesh will leave the country for the UAE to play a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan just after the second and final Test against South Africa in Chattogram.

Shakib's smooth exit from the country looked ensured as he is still a part of the ODI setup.

The Test series also marks the first assignment at the helm for interim coach Phil Simmons, who takes over from the now-suspended and soon-to-be-terminated Chandika Hathurusingha.

Simmons reached in Dhaka today and already took the charge of the Tigers.

Squad for first Test
Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Shadman lslam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das (WK), Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana.