BAN vs ZIM: Zimbabwe T20 squad for Bangladesh series announced

The Zimbabwe Cricket Board have announced the 15-man squad for their upcoming white-ball tour of Bangladesh which will see them play a 5-match T20I series next month. The series is set to begin from May 3rd onwards and the first 3 T20Is will be played at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong whereas the remaining two will be played in Dhaka.

Sikander Raza is once again set to lead the Zimbabweans in this series, which will help them prepare for the ultimate task later this June when the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 begins. 

Zimbabwe skipper Sikander Raza, who is currently taking part in the Indian Premier League 2024 edition for the Punjab Kings, is expected to join the team in the coming weeks.

While Raza had been playing in the IPL, the rest of his teammates were participating in the 2023 African Continental Games wherein Cricket was included for the first time, just like the sport was included in the Asian Games last year. T20 was the format in which all 16 games were played at the African Games, which took place in Ghana. 

8 teams were divided into groups of 4 teams each with Zimbabwe drawn along with Namibia, Tanzania, and Nigeria. As it was expected, the team led by Clive Madande in the absence of Raza, remained undefeated in the Group stages.

The Chevrons then cruised past Kenya by 70 runs in the semi-finals before beating an in-form Namibian team by 8 wickets in the finale at the Achimota Senior Secondary School A Field, Accra to become inaugural African Games Cricket champions.

Zimbabwe welcome one uncapped player and recall a few talented youngsters

Fans are quite happy with the current squad composition of the Zimbabwean team led by Sikander Raza. The chief selectors had kept a close eye on Zimbabwe's performance in the 13th African Games in Ghana and from the team that won the Gold medal, an all-rounder named Jonathon Campbell has been given a national call-up. Other than him, from the gold medallist team, Clive Madande and Brian Bennett have also been included in the squad.     

Tadiwanashe Marumani and Faraz Akram, who have been a part of the Zimbabwe setup for quite some time, have also been recalled. Veteran players Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, pacer Richard Ngarava, and Blessing Muzarabani are also going to be a part of the traveling team to Bangladesh. 

Due to the absence of a full-time head coach, the Chevrons will be coached by Stuart Matsikenyeri in the 5-match T20I series as the appointment of a new head coach still awaits.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will kick off the series on May 3rd while the 2nd and 3rd T20I taking place on 5th and 7th of May in Chittagong. The final two matches will take place on 10th and 12th May at Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. 

Zimbabwe squad for Bangladesh T20Is:

Raza Sikandar (captain), Akram Faraz, Bennett Brian, Burl Ryan, Campbell Johnathan, Ervine Craig, Gumbie Joylord, Jongwe Luke, Madande Clive, Marumani Tadiwanashe, Masakadza Wellington, Muzarabani Blessing, Ndlovu Ainsley, Ngarava Richard, Williams Sean.