BANGLADESH is likely to be granted test status making it the 10th test match playing nation, says Ali Bacher, the head of the development committee of the game’s top international body said. “It is now a mere formality,” Bacher, chief of the International Cricket Council’s development committee, told reporters at the weekend. “The development committee of the ICC has strongly recommended that Bangladesh be accorded test status soon,” he said. Bacher said the game was as popular in Bangladesh as it was in test playing India and Pakistan. The other test match playing nations are Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.