Bangladesh takes on hosts Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the three-match series in Harare on Friday, but less than 24 hours before the start of the play the Tigers are in the dark about the opposing team.

To finalize a game plan, the Bangladesh team was supposed to analyse the performance of the players they would compete against.

“But this is not happening in Harare as we are yet to know who will play for Zimbabwe,” Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal said in the pre-series press conference on Thursday.

Tamim didn’t hide his surprise when he was asked about the young Zimbabwe squad.

“We may come to know about Zimbabwe team when the toss will be done tomorrow (July 16). It’s less than 24 hours before the first match, and we know nothing about the Zimbabwe squad,” he said.

Tamim  added that before a series begins, every team does conduct some special meetings— team meetings, batting or bowling meetings— to finalize the plan to win matches.

“It came as a surprise to me. If you have no idea about the opponent, how will you prepare yourself for an international match? I don’t have an answer to this question. To play in this series, every Zimbabwe player needs to maintain a 10-day quarantine in the hotel where we are staying here. But we don’t see anyone,” Tamim added.

Apart from this, Bangladesh are worried about the injury problem of at least two players including the captain. The left-handed opener has sustained a leg injury during the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Divison Twenty20 Cricket League last month. He is yet to be fully fit.

“It’ll take much time to heal. It’s not something to get healed in five or six days,” Tamim told about his condition. “The physio has set a plan for me. For now, we’ll try to manage it without taking any risks. I batted yesterday (in practice match) taping my leg. There was no problem. Let’s see what happens next.”

While Tamim is still on to play the ODI series, left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is doubtful for the series opener. He suffered a blow on this ankle in the lone practice game on Wednesday.

The Tigers will miss the service of Mushfiqur Rahim as well. The wicketkeeper-batsman had to leave the team due to family reasons. And the experienced pacer, Rubel Hossain, is yet to join the team due to visa complications. He left for Zimbabwe only on Thursday. It’s unlikely for Rubel to take part in the first match.

“You cannot always field the best team,” Tamim told in a virtual press conference. “You sometimes have to fight with what you have. Look at the situations of Mushfiq and Mustafiz— you cannot control it. So we are not worried much about it. The other players in the squad are also capable of doing well.”

These matches of the ODI series are the parts of the World Cup Super League. Bangladesh are currently placed second in the points table of this event with five wins in nine games. A 3-0 win in this series will help the Tigers to secure 30 points which will surely increase their chance to book a place in the World Cup directly.

“Since this series is a part of the World Cup Super League, we will put our best foot forward to win this series. Every match is equally important for us,” Tamim added.

Bangladesh played Zimbabwe in 75 ODIs to the date and winning 47 and  losing 28. Of those 28 were played in Zimbabwe, and the hosts have a great record of winning 15 matches at home.