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Bangladesh is all set to kick-start its T20 World Cup preparation formally by taking on Zimbabwe in a five-match series at two venues across the country.
The opening game of the series will be held today at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The match will kick off at 6 pm.
The port city will also host the second and third match before the final two T20 Internationals will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Zimbabwe won the last bilateral series between the two sides in this format by 2-1 in their own country in 2022 but that doesn't necessarily mean that Bangladesh will be on the back foot, said captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.
"There is nothing like a big team or small team in this format. As you said Zimbabwe lost the series to Uganda but a few days ago, they beat a strong team like Sri Lanka. So the difference is always subtle in this format," Shanto said in Chattogram on Thursday.
"The matter is how we approach this series. Word Cup is knocking at the door, so the series is a preparation platform for us. We prepared ourselves and gained confidence. I can say that the series will be immensely competitive because they are a very good team."
Despite losing the last series to the East African nation, Bangladesh are ahead of the head-to-head battle by winning 13 and losing seven in 20 matches between the two sides.
Bangladesh will be without its key allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman for the first three matches. Shakib who had already returned to the country from the US is playing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) matches to get his match fitness. Mustafizur also returned to the country yesterday after playing IPL for Chennai Super Kings.
However, keeping his fatigue issue in mind, the selectors don't want him to play the first three matches.
"We want to win the series and that's our first goal," Shanto said. "At the same time, the preparation for the World Cup will be in our mind but that doesn't mean that we will make huge experiments. There is no need to make any experiment because the 15 players who were included in this team, are capable enough to beat this Zimbabwe. I think the series will give us insights about our shortcomings and where we should focus to rectify our mistakes."
Despite showing competitive performance against the big teams of late, Zimbabwe failed to cut the T20 World Cup. But they will hope to play the way they did at home in 2022 when they beat Bangladesh for the first time in a T20I series. They beat Bangladesh in the ODIs series as well but have yet to win a white-ball series in Bangladesh since 2001.
"It would be a great memory to take (series) back home," Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said. "I cannot predict the future, that I can't do. But we've come here with the right mindset, and we've come here preparing really well for the series. We've come here to win as well, and so has Bangladesh."
