Zimbabwe host Bangladesh in the first of three T20Is at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, on Wednesday, July 15. The match follows a dominant phase for the hosts, who beat Bangladesh in the lone Test and then took the ODI series on the same tour. Sikandar Raza leads Zimbabwe into the T20I leg looking to keep that momentum going on home soil.
Bangladesh arrive under pressure. Their last T20I assignment ended in a 3-0 series loss to Australia, and results across the other two formats on this tour have already gone against them. Towhid Hridoy takes over as captain in this series, with regular skipper Litton Das unavailable.
Bangladesh Missing Several Key Players
Bangladesh will be without four first-choice players for the series. Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud all received no-objection certificates to play in the Lanka Premier League instead. Their situation worsened when pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman was ruled out of the tour altogether. He suffered a grade 1 tear in his right hamstring along with a meniscal issue in his right knee during the ODI series.
With three senior quicks unavailable, the bowling responsibility shifts heavily onto Nahid Rana. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series with seven dismissals and will be expected to lead the pace attack again. Rana has played only three T20Is so far and has taken three wickets in that format, making this series a chance to build his numbers at this level.
Zimbabwe Look to Continue Winning Run
Zimbabwe come into the match on the back of a strong run that includes wins over Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka during their run to the Super Eight at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Brian Bennett has been central to that form. He hit match-winning half-centuries against Australia and Sri Lanka at the World Cup and also made an unbeaten 97 in a defeat to India, though his returns dipped in the ODI series against Bangladesh after a fifty in the Test.
Ben Curran, who joined the squad as an injury replacement during the World Cup, is in line for a possible T20I debut. Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans are expected to form the pace attack, while Raza takes charge of the spin options.
Team News and Match Details
Zimbabwe’s probable XI
Ben Curran, Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
Bangladesh’s probable XI
Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy (capt), Nurul Hasan (wk), Mosaddek Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, Nahid Rana.
Zimbabwe hold a strong record over Bangladesh in the format, having won 17 of 25 previous T20Is between the sides. Bangladesh have won eight, with the two teams last meeting in May 2024, a match Zimbabwe won. Raza is set to become only the second Zimbabwean men’s cricketer to appear in a T20I at 40 or older, a distinction previously held by Brendan Taylor.
The match starts at 3:00 PM IST, with no threat of rain forecast for Bulawayo.
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