Toss Bangladesh chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe

Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, with their skipper Towhid Hridoy saying they want to take advantage of any moisture in the pitch in a day game. Taskin Ahmed, who was originally permitted to skip the series for his Lanka Premier League stint, has been recalled to the squad and will lead the pace attack for the visitors.

Taskin’s LPL stint has been delayed due to Mustafizur Rahman being ruled out of the tour after the first ODI with knee and hamstring injuries.

Middle-order batter Yasir Ali also comes into Bangladesh’s XI, playing his first T20I since the Asian Games in 2023. This will be his 12th T20I appearance. Meanwhile, Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed are their two spinners.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said Zimbabwe wanted to bat first anyway as the Bulawayo surface may slow down in the second innings. Raza, left-arm spinner Milton Shumba and Ryan Burl will be Zimbabwe’s spinners, while they have picked four seam-bowling options.

Ben Curran, who went to the 2026 T20 World Cup as an injury replacement was retained in the squad, but he will have to wait for his T20I debut, as Zimbabwe opted for the same top five that saw them register wins against Australia and Sri Lanka in the marquee competition.

Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Dion Myers, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Milton Shumba, 7 Clive Madande (wk), 8 Tashinga Musekiwa, 9 Brad Evans, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing Muzarabani

Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasn, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Parvez Hossain Emon, 4 Towhid Hridoy (capt), 5 Nurul Hasan (wk), 6 Yasir Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Nasum Ahmed, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Nahid Rana