New Age | Opportunities for newcomers as Bangladesh resume Test journey

Opportunities for the newcomers loom as Bangladesh are set to resume their busy schedule in Test cricket, with the only Test against Zimbabwe starting Sunday at the Harare Sports Club in Harare.

The match is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time. T Sports and Nagorik TV will broadcast it live, while fans can also watch it on the OTT platform Tapmad.

This will be Bangladesh’s first Test at the African country since 2021, when they won the one-off Test by 220 runs.

Originally the tour comprised two Tests and five ODIs but was later reduced to one Test and three ODIs while adding three T20Is.

Bangladesh national selectors called up uncapped Towhid Hridoy and Robiul Haque in the squad, with all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the pace duo of Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana being given rest.

Bangladesh also have another uncapped player, Amite Hasan, in the squad, who’s been with the squad since the Pakistan series in May.

Litton Das was ruled out of this Test with a calf injury, which prevented him from playing in the three-match T20I series against Australia earlier, with Mahidul Islam replacing him in the squad.

Pacer Hasan Mahmud joined the squad in Harare after playing two rounds of County Championship fixtures for Kent. He will be accompanied by Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed in the pace department.

Bangladesh have an upper hand in terms of recent results against Zimbabwe in the format, winning eight out of the last 10 Tests, spanning 13 years.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto wants to maintain their good run in Test cricket.

‘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,’ he said.

He’ll be keeping an eye on their upcoming away series against Australia and South Africa as well.

He said, ‘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, who are not part of the ICC World Test Championship, are not regular in the format as well. However, they might be included in the next cycle of an expanded WTC cycle from 2027 onwards.

Their star all-rounder Sikandar Raza will not feature in this Test as he was given permission to play in the T20 Blast tournament in the UK instead.

The 39-year-old leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, last playing a Test in 2017, was recalled, while Richard Ngarava was set to lead his country in the format for the first time after he had been named as Test and ODI captain last December.