Bangladesh selectors will have a pool of 29 players to choose from for the upcoming Test series against Australia after a huge preliminary squad was named on Thursday.

The squad, which also acts as the preliminary group for Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa in September-October, features Champions Trophy heroes Shakib Al Hasan – the world’s premier allrounder – Mahmudullah Riyad, Tamim Iqbal and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat.

Australia arrive in Bangladesh on August 18 before playing their sole warm-up fixture in Fatullah four days later ahead of the first Test in Dhaka on August 27. The second Test will be played in Chittagong on September 4.

BANGLADESH PRELIMINARY SQUAD: 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.

The visitors named their 13-man squad for the Qantas Tour of Bangladesh a week ago, with captain Steve Smith and deputy David Warner among 11 players who featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India earlier this year.

Middle-order batsman Usman Khawaja is one of those players but was not selected during the exhilarating four-Test series that India claimed 2-1.

Quick Single: Khawaja ready for cricket after four months running drinks

Khawaja will head to South Africa early next month to captain Australia A in two four-day matches against South Africa A to get some crucial game time before the challenging tour.

While Bangladesh may be ranked ninth (out of 10, with newly-admitted Test sides Ireland and Afghanistan yet to play their inaugural matches) on the ICC Test team rankings, the Tigers have produced a number of impressive performances in recent times, including a last-start Test win on home soil against England.

With that in mind, Khawaja says Australia will not be taking their next opponents lightly.

"They’re very good in their backyard, much like India," Khawaja told cricket.com.au.

"Their wickets are very similar to those in India. It will be a challenge.

"It’s a tough tour to go to because I haven’t been to Bangladesh before and from all reports it’s a very congested country, getting around is pretty tough, very different to what we experience in Australia.

"People think of Bangladesh ‘It’s an easy win, it’s only Bangladesh’ but it’s not like that anymore.

"They’re very competitive at home so it’s going to be a very good series."

Teen Tiger turns demolition on England

Australia haven’t played a Test in Bangladesh since 2006 when former fast bowler and Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie scored a memorable double-century in what turned out to be his final Test.

Each member of Australia’s squad will make their Bangladesh debut and Gillespie has encouraged the tourists to embrace the unique experience.

"I’m looking forward to seeing them go out there and have a wonderful tour of Bangladesh," Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

"It’s a great place to play cricket, the crowds are fanatical, the public is right behind their side and they’re very respectful of other teams. (The fans) love Australian players.

"They’ll have wonderful time there and really enjoy."

The Bangladesh squad will come together on July 10 for a training camp to begin preparations for Australia’s arrival.