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Zim T20s: Raza's Lions Eye Upset vs Depleted Bangladesh
15 Jul
Summary
- Bangladesh faces Zimbabwe in the first T20I on July 15.
- Visitors miss key players like Litton Das and Mustafizur Rahman.
- Zimbabwe aims to build on recent Test and ODI series success.
Zimbabwe is set to host Bangladesh for the first T20I of a three-match series on Wednesday, July 15, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. The home team, under the leadership of Sikandar Raza, will be looking to extend their recent success against Bangladesh, having secured an innings victory in the Test and a 2-1 series win in the ODIs. Zimbabwe has shown strong form in T20Is, notably reaching the Super 6 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Bangladesh will be without several prominent players who have been granted No Objection Certificates to participate in the Lanka Premier League. This includes Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Hasan Mahmud. Additionally, pacer Mustafizur Rahman has been ruled out of the series due to a Grade 1 muscle tear in his hamstring, leaving the visitors with a significantly weakened lineup led by Towhid Hridoy.
Zimbabwe may give a T20I debut to opener Ben Curran. Their bowling attack is expected to feature Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans. Bangladesh's pace attack will be spearheaded by Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam, with Abdul Gaffar Saqlain as the third seamer. Despite Bangladesh's historical advantage in head-to-head T20I encounters, Zimbabwe will be confident of building on their recent form.
