Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto speaks at a press conference ahead of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Saturday. | photo BCB
Opportunities for openers loom as Bangladesh are set to resume their busy Test cricket schedule, with the only Test against Zimbabwe starting on Sunday at the Harare Sports Club in Harare.
The match will start at 1:30 pm Bangladesh Standard Time. T Sports and Nagorik TV will telecast it live and fans will also be able to watch it on OTT platform Tapmad.
This will be Bangladeshโs first Test in the African country since 2021 when they won the one-off Test by 220 runs.
The tour initially included two Tests and five ODIs, but was later reduced to one Test and three ODIs with the addition of three T20Is.
Bangladeshโs national selectors called up Tohid Hridoy and Robiul Haque for the uncapped squad, while all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the duo of Taskeen Ahmed and Nahid Rana were rested.
Bangladesh also have another unmatched player in the squad, Amit Hasan, who has been playing for the team since their match against Pakistan in May.
Litton Das was ruled out of this Test due to a calf injury that had kept him out of the three-match T20I series against Australia earlier, with Mahidul Islam replacing him in the team.
Pacer Hassan Mahmood has joined the team in Harare after two rounds of County Championship matches for Kent. He will be accompanied in the pace department by Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed.
Bangladesh have the advantage in recent results against Zimbabwe in this format, having won eight of the last 10 Tests in 13 years.
Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto wants to continue his good performance in Test cricket.
โWe tried to prepare as best as possible using the opportunities that were available to us here. Everyone is confident. We have played good cricket over the last few series and I believe we can do well in this Test match,โ he said.
He will also keep an eye on their upcoming away series against Australia and South Africa.
He said: โWe want to win the match and play good cricket.โ We have a few more road games coming up after this series, so how well we do in this series is important.
โIf our batters and bowlers do well here, it will benefit us in the upcoming series as well. We will focus on playing the best cricket we can.โ
Zimbabwe, which does not participate in the ICC World Test Championship, is also not a regular participant in the format. However, they may be included in the next World Trade Center expansion cycle, starting in 2027.
Their star all-rounder Sikandar Raza will not feature in this Test as he has been cleared to play in the T20 Blast tournament in the UK instead.
39-year-old opener Graham Cramer, who last played a Test in 2017, was recalled and Richard Ngarawa was set to lead his country in the format for the first time after being named Test and ODI captain last December.