Bangladesh resume – Bangladesh begin a one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, with uncapped players Towhid Hridoy and Robiul Haque called up and Litton Das ruled out by a calf injury. The match starts at 1:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time, with T Sports and N
Sunday in Harare arrives with a familiar pressure for Bangladesh — but also with fresh faces.
The one-off Test against Zimbabwe begins at 1:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time at the Harare Sports Club. Bangladesh’s schedule has been quiet in between. yet the Test is set to reopen a busy season. and it comes with a squad built for reinvention. T Sports and Nagorik TV will broadcast the match live. while fans can also watch it on the OTT platform Tapmad.
Bangladesh are returning to Zimbabwe for the first time in Tests since 2021, when they won the one-off match by 220 runs. This time, the tour is shorter than it originally appeared: it began as two Tests and five ODIs, before being reduced to one Test and three ODIs, with three T20Is added.
On the selection side, uncapped players have been given a direct doorway in. Towhid Hridoy and Robiul Haque have been called up into the squad, while all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the pace duo of Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana have been rested.
Amid that reshuffle, Bangladesh also include another uncapped player, Amite Hasan, who has been with the squad since the Pakistan series in May.
There is also the matter of one notable absence. Litton Das has been ruled out of this Test with a calf injury that had already kept him from playing in the three-match T20I series against Australia. Mahidul Islam replaces him in the squad.
The bowling group carries its own continuity and movement. Pacer Hasan Mahmud joined the squad in Harare after playing two rounds of County Championship fixtures for Kent, and he will be accompanied by Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed in the pace department.
On paper, Bangladesh carry an advantage in Zimbabwe’s Test turf. They have won eight out of the last 10 Tests against Zimbabwe over a span of 13 years. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto wants that momentum to translate into the opening session of this match. even as the lineup includes players testing themselves at the highest level.
“We tried to make the best possible preparations with the facilities that were available to us here. Everyone is confident. We’ve been playing good cricket over the last few series. and I believe we can produce a strong performance in this Test match. ” Shanto said during a press conference ahead of the one-off Test.
The captain’s attention is not only on Sunday. He will also be keeping an eye on the away series against Australia and South Africa coming up next. Shanto framed the Zimbabwe match as groundwork.
“We want to win the match and play good cricket. After this series, we have several away series coming up, so it’s important how well we perform in this series.
‘If our batters and bowlers do well here, it will also benefit us in the upcoming series. Our focus will be on playing the best cricket we possibly can.’”
Zimbabwe arrive with their own uncertainty about what this Test will look like over time. Zimbabwe are not part of the ICC World Test Championship, and they are not regular in the format. Still, they might be included in the next cycle of an expanded WTC cycle from 2027 onwards.
Team news adds another layer. Sikandar Raza — Zimbabwe’s star all-rounder — will not feature in this Test because he has been given permission to play in the T20 Blast tournament in the UK instead.
Zimbabwe have also recalled Graeme Cremer, the 39-year-old leg-spinner who last played a Test in 2017. Richard Ngarava was set to lead his country in the format for the first time after he was named as Test and ODI captain last December.
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe one-off Test Harare Sports Club Najmul Hossain Shanto Towhid Hridoy Robiul Haque Litton Das calf injury Mahidul Islam Hasan Mahmud Ebadot Hossain Khaled Ahmed Sikandar Raza Graeme Cremer Richard Ngarava Tapmad