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Zimbabwe
Bangladesh
Bangladesh will begin their Zimbabwe tour with a one-off Test at the Harare Sports Club. Both teams will look to make a strong start before the ODI and T20I series. Bangladesh will enter the match as slight favourites because of their recent Test form and better record against Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe will play their first Test under new captain Richard Ngarava, who will lead the side for the first time in the format. Bangladesh will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto and will take confidence from winning 4 of their last 5 Test matches.
Zimbabwe have managed just 1 win in their last 5 Tests. Bangladesh have also won 4 of the last 5 Test meetings between these teams, while the previous series in 2025 finished in a 1-1 draw. Based on recent form and head-to-head record, Bangladesh will start with a slight advantage.
Bangladesh's stronger and more experienced Test batting line-up gives them a better chance of producing the highest run-scorer in the match as compared to Zimbabweβs less experienced unit.
The betting tip is...
Top Batterβs Team - Bangladesh
61 %
39 %
ZimbabweBangladeshZimbabwe will go into the one-off Test without all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who is unavailable because of his county cricket commitments in England. Richard Ngarava is prepared for his first Test as captain after replacing Craig Ervine as Zimbabwe's Test and ODI captain in December.
The 15-man squad included 39-year-old leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, who returns to the Test setup for the first time since 2017. Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wessly Madhevere and Newman Nyamhuri also returned to the squad after missing the previous Test against Afghanistan.
Tanunurwa Makoni, Nick Welch, Antum Naqvi, Tinotenda Maposa and Wellington Masakadza missed out on the previous squad alongside Raza. Craig Ervine and Brian Bennett are the key batters, while Blessing Muzarabani will be a key bowler along with captain Ngarava.
Bennett, Ervine and Taylor are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Brendan Taylor (wk), Innocent Kaia, Craig Ervine, Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava (c), Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga.
Bangladesh made one change to their squad after Mahidul Islam replaced the injured Litton Das for the one-off Test. Litton failed to recover from the left calf strain he suffered during the ODI series against Australia and had already missed the three-match T20I series, where Bangladesh lost 3-0 under stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy.
Head coach Phil Simmons admitted that the team missed Litton during that series. Despite the setback, Bangladesh retained a strong core in the Test squad. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim have both scored more than 750 runs in their last 8 Test matches while averaging around 58. Taijul Islam also arrives in excellent form after taking 54 wickets in his last 10 Test matches.
Shanto, Rahim and Mahmudul are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain.
Bangladesh will start as the stronger team because of their recent Test form and better record against Zimbabwe. Their batting line-up looks more settled and has several players capable of playing long innings. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim have both been consistent in recent Tests, which gives Bangladesh a clear advantage. They also have batters like Towhid Hridoy and Tanzid Hasan who can produce strong batting performances on their day.
Zimbabwe will miss the experience of Sikandar Raza, making their batting task even tougher against a strong bowling unit. Bangladesh's bowlers will create regular chances, while their batters are likely to make the biggest scores of the match. A first-innings lead should help Bangladesh control the game and put themselves in a strong position to win the one-off away Test match.
