DHAKA, Bangladesh (CMC):

Denesh Ramdin joined coach Ottis Gibson and captain Darren Sammy in describing West Indies' tour of Bangladesh this month as challenging.

The wicketkeeper/batsman joined the West Indies team fresh from the Champions League Twenty20 in India, where he helped Trinidad & Tobago reach the brink of qualification for the semi-finals.

He said West Indies had a short time to prepare for the inter-national matches against their hosts and overcoming the conditions will be the biggest challenge.

"Everyone knows this is not going to be an easy series for us," said Ramdin. "They [Bangladeshis] play well at home so we have to make sure our preparations are spot on and make maximum use of whatever warm-up opportunities we have."

He added: "Conditions here have changed quite a bit since I was here as captain in the Under-19 World Cup, but we can still expect the pitches to favour the spinners.

West Indies open the tour today with a one-day match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI at the Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Futallah.

As the only wicketkeeper/batsman in the limited-overs squad on tour, Ramdin is expected to jump right back into the thick of things, and take the gloves in the warm-up match.