Toss Zimbabwe chose to bat v Bangladesh
Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza has decided to bat against Bangladesh in the first Test in Sylhet. Bangladesh decided to pick just the one seamer – Abu Jayed – as they bank on a three-man spin attack.
They handed debuts to middle-order batsman Ariful Haque and left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam as they made four changes from their last Test line-up.
Nazmul Hossain Shanto will be playing his first Test since making his debut in January 2017 while Imrul Kayes will open with Liton Das. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan are injured while Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Nurul Hasan were dropped due to poor form.
Zimbabwe also handed debuts to spinners Wellington Masakadza and Brandon Mavuta while also bringing in Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva and Tendai Chatara from the Test line-up from last year’s four-day Test against South Africa. Chamu Chibhabha, Graeme Cremer, Chris Mpofu and Blessing Muzarabani were missing out.
It is also Sylhet’s Test debut, having first held a competitive match 10 years ago, and the first international match in 2014.
Bangladesh: 1 Liton Das, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Nazmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah (capt), 7 Ariful Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Abu Jayed
Zimbabwe: 1 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 2 Brian Chari, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 PJ Moor, 7 Regis Chakabva (wk), 8 Brandon Mavuta, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Tendai Chatara