Bangladesh is all set to take on Zimbabwe in the one-off Test on Tuesday at the Harare Sports Club and captain Mominul Haque said they are looking forward to playing all-round cricket to beat the hosts.
It’ll be Bangladesh’s first Test in Zimbabwe in eight years. The last Test, played in April 2013, was won by the Tigers by a big margin of 143 runs.
Bangladesh captain said the past result or the more experienced side has no role to play in the new Test. He rather believes Bangladesh will have to play a good brand of cricket in every department to seal the match.
“When you are going to play an away Test, you have to play well in every department— bowling, batting and fielding. You have to focus well and a good teamwork is the key. If we can ensure all these, I hope to win this match,” Mominul said in the pre-match virtual press conference.
Bangladesh are traditionally a team who rely on the spinners more in Tests. But when the matches are abroad, the pacers come to the scene, and expectation on them suddenly goes up. The last time a Bangladeshi pacer registered a five-for, the opponent were Zimbabwe. Ahead of another Test against the same opponent, and at the same venue, the current bunch of Bangladeshi pacers came to the fore.
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“Most of the time, it (playing more pacers) depends on the condition,” Mominul said. “We field more spinners when we play at home. But when are abroad, we rely more on the pacers and batsmen. Still, it depends on the condition to make a decision whether we field five or four bowlers along with six or seven batsmen.”
Bangladesh players took part in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League ahead of this tour. So they are set to play a Test right after playing T20s for a month. Mominul said it won’t affect their game.
“I was a bit concerned about it. We marched ahead and the T20s are past now. We have had a few practice sessions here with red ball, and we also played a two-day practice match. I think we are prepared well to play Tests now,” Mominul added.
Bangladesh might miss the service of Tamim Iqbal in this Test. The left-handed batsman has been suffering from a leg injury. He batted for five overs in the practice game, still, he is not 100 per cent fit to play this Test. Bangladesh captain said they will wait for Tamim till the last moment.
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Mushfiur Rahim, however, is set to play this Test. He was also suffering from a finger injury. But the right-batsman has recovered well. And at the same time, Shakib Al Hasan is also all set to play this Test after missing out on Bangladesh’s last Test against Sri Lanka.
Mahmudullah Riyad, who has been added to the Test squad after being overlooked initially, might find a place if Tamim fails to make it to the playing XI. However, the Bangladesh captain didn’t make it clear whether Mahmudullah plays in Harare Test.
Bangladesh’s Possible playing XI:
Shadman Islam/Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz/Taijul Islam, Shoriul Islam, Abu Jayed and Mustafizur Rahman.