Mashrafe announced his retirement as captain on Thursday. He, however, will be available for national selection. If Bangladesh win this game, Mashrfe will complete fifty ODI wins as the Bangladesh captain.
In the first two matches of the series, Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal hit century respectively to help the Tigers register two consecutive wins. Bangladesh beat the tourists by a record margin of 169 runs in the first match, Bangladesh's biggest win in terms of runs. In the second match, Bangladesh posted a mammoth total of 322, their highest in ODIs against Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe posed a strong reply losing by only four runs.
Now, the Tigers have a good chance to register a clean sweep against Zimbabwe, who lost on all five occasions when they have faced the Tigers in ODIs in the last two years.
Bangladesh might overlook Mushfiqur Rahim in the last game of the series as he is not touring Pakistan next month. Instead of Mushfiqur, head coach Russell Domingo is likely to prefer Afif Hossain so that he has a good preparation ahead of the Pakistan tour.
Afif has already played 10 T20Is for the Tigers but is yet to get his ODI cap. He played 23 List-A games before getting the maiden call to the ODI side and scored 1181 runs in an average of 33.74 with five centuries and two fifties.
Along with Mushfiqur, Bangladesh might rest one of Tamim and Liton. Anyone of them might be replaced by Soumya Sarkar who has been added to the squad after a short layoff for personal reasons.
Shafiul Islam and Al Amin Hossain might also be replaced by Mustafiuzr Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin who were rested in the second game.
After the ODI series, both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will lock horns in a two-match T20Is series in Dhaka on March 9 and 11.
Probable XI (Bangladesh): Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Afif Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taijul Islam, Liton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan
Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams (c), Regis Chakabva, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Sikandar Raza, Carl Mumba, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Donald Tiripano, Wesley Madhevere, Charlton Tshuma.