Bangladesh were expected to use their five-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe as an opportunity to try and test their squad to ensure optimal preparation for the looming T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA and although they will be looking to get ready for the showcase event with the five matches, the Tigers are not looking to experiment much in them.
Ahead of this series, Bangladesh announced a 17-member provisional squad from which the 15 players for the first three matches were selected.
However, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman – both of whom are pretty much guaranteed a place in the playing XI – were not included in that squad as the former only came back from USA recently, while the latter returned from playing in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Alongside them, opener Soumya Sarkar is also out injured but is also a certain pick in the Tigers’ XI.
With three of them not available, Bangladesh had the chance to try out a few other players and combinations, especially with the likes of Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Afif Hossain, and Mohammad Saifuddin in the squad as these players are the most likely candidates to be dropped when the regulars return.
Alongside this, the series is Bangladesh’s final opportunity to try something new, which will be difficult to do once they leave for USA, where they will play a three-match series against the hosts before their World Cup journey begins on June 8 in Dallas.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, though, said that they were unwilling to experiment too much.
‘We will not take the matches lightly or experiment too much trying to prepare [for the T20 World Cup] – it’s not like that. There will be no need for experiments because the 15 players here are all capable,’ he said in the pre-series press conference.
One place Bangladesh might tinker with is their top-order with Soumya and Shakib unavailable, and that can be done courtesy of them having the likes of Jaker Ali Anik, Rishad Hossain, and Shak Mahedi Hasan down the order, which gives them a bit more batting depth.
However, Shanto did not believe that only that would lead to the top-order batters batting freely.
‘No, we won’t bat freely just thinking about that [strong lower order]. Every player has their freedom, doesn’t matter who is playing down the order. Everyone is given the freedom to bat the way it is required in their role,’ he said.
‘But it is also true that having batters at the end means you might get a couple of extra boundaries. That will obviously be handy.’
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