BAN vs ZIM: Bangladesh Cricket Board Planning To Reschedule 2-Match Test Series Against Zimbabwe - Reports

In a recent development, the Bangladesh Cricket Board is planning to reschedule the National team’s 2-match Test series against Zimbabwe on home soil. The measure is being considered by the BCB authorities in order to give the team some extra time to prepare for the upcoming 20-team ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, as per Cricbuzz.

The mega T20 event is slated to start from June 1 onwards with hosts USA taking on neighbors Canada in the opening game. Bangladesh have been drawn into Group D alongside teams like South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Nepal.

The Bangla Tigers will play their first match of the T20 WC 2024 against one-time winners Sri Lanka on June 8 at the Grand Prairie Stadium. Their second game will see them go against South Africa 2 days later before ending the group stage with clashes against Netherlands on 13 June and Nepal on 16 June.

The top 2 teams from each of the 4 groups will proceed to the next round i.e. Super 8 (virtual QFs) before the semi-finals and final on 29th June at Barbados. It will be an important event for Bangladesh whose best performance in the tournament came in 2016 when they finished as Group winners.

They have never been to a T20 WC semi-final and it is something that the management will be keen to improve in the upcoming edition. That is why the BCB is mulling over rescheduling the Test series against Zimbabwe, which is also key for their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final in 2025.

Jalal Yunus, the BCB Chair of operations, said that Bangladesh will not snub the Test series against Zimbabwe but they are eager to push the dates beyond the T20 WC. “It is not a fact that we are going to abandon the two Tests against Zimbabwe and certainly we will play the two Tests (against Zimbabwe) but when we will play that Test is something we need to decide,” Yunus told Cricbuzz. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board Planning To Send The Team To USA Weeks Prior To The T20 WC

Bangladesh’s preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup will virtually start from 19th January through the Bangladesh Premier League. The domestic event will be important for them to check and see the form of its contracted players and whether some new faces will be introduced or not.

Moreover, the BCB wants to send their team to the USA weeks before the start of the tournament so that they can adapt to the conditions over there at the expense of pushing the Zimbabwe Test series further beyond its original dates. They will then host Sri Lanka for 3 T20Is-ODIs and 2 Tests before the other home series against Zimbabwe.

Head coach of the National team, Chandika Hathurusingha is expected to have a meeting with the BCB hierarchy in which they will be deciding when to host Zimbabwe, before or after the T20 World Cup.