After suffering a humiliating loss against Afghanistan this week, the Tigers will now shift their focus to the shortest format as they face Zimbabwe in the first match of the tri-nation T20I series in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Friday.
Bangladesh have announced a fresh-looking T20I squad for the tri-series as they have opted for young players like spinner-allrounder Afif Hossain, spinner Mahedi Hasan and uncapped pacer Yeasin Arafat Mishu.
The T20I format is not the most successful format for the Tigers in terms of performance.
Also, the BCB XI Wednesday lost the match against the Zimbabweans in Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium where players like Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Saifuddin and Afif, who are all part of the tri-series squad, featured.
Following their Test loss against Afghanistan, player confidence might be at an all-time low but the Tigers are eyeing a turnaround.
@ZimCricketv T20I captain Hamilton Masakadza said they are more than capable of holding their ground in T20Is against @BCBtigers and @ACBofficials, despite the gap in ranking.https://t.co/8RVdcjwCYU#ZIMBABWE #CRICKET #ZIMBABWECRICKET #HAMILTON #MASAKADZA #HAMILTONMASAKADZA #BCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 12, 2019
Players took part in a training session in Mirpur Thursday night, although their practice was curtailed due to rain.
Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo believes Bangladesh will turn around and play better cricket in the upcoming series.
“I think Afghanistan played really well in the Test match. So the credit should go to Afghanistan and there should be no excuses from our side. But when it comes to white-ball cricket, Bangladesh can beat anybody on the given day. We got some world-class performers in our side. Particularly in T20I cricket, in any day any team can beat any side. I can’t guarantee a win [today]…but what I can say is we will give our best performance, that’s for sure,” said Domingo in the pre-match press conference in Mirpur Thursday.
Zimbabwe Cricket has been undergoing turmoil as they are facing an ICC ban.
And one of their key players Sikandar Raza was not included in the squad for disciplinary issues.
Not only did the Afghans win by a comprehensive margin of 224 runs in just their third Test match, @rashidkhan_19 also created history by becoming the youngest Test captain in historyhttps://t.co/fSLffLdiah#AFGHANISTAN #RASHIDKHAN #RASHID #KHAN #ACB #CRICKET #AFGHANISTANCRICKET
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 12, 2019
But the Tigers are not taking Zimbabwe lightly as they have a good record in Bangladesh, particularly in the shorter formats.
Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza believes they can produce some great results in their favor as they are familiar with the conditions here in Bangladesh.
“We are not starting the series from behind. We have played good T20Is here in the past. We have got used to the conditions. So we are not really starting behind, compared to Afghanistan or home team Bangladesh. Obviously, because the shorter the version of cricket, the closer teams come together. Fortunately, with a game like T20I, what you have to do is just, having a one-person blind on the deck and that can turn the game where the longer versions you need two or three guys doing all. And in T20I only just takes one guy a day to win the game for a team,” said Masakadza in the pre-game presser.
The weather might be a concern for Friday's clash as there was frequent rain Thursday and there are forecasts of rain Friday as well.
The match will start at 6:30pm local time.
