ZIMBABWE’S cricket team begin their much-anticipated tour of Bangladesh with a three-day practice match at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah today ahead of the start of the opening Test in Dhaka on Saturday.
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The Stephen Mangongo-coached side arrived in Bangladesh on Friday to play their first Test series in the subcontinent nation after nearly a decade.
The two sides will also take part in a five-match ODI series.
The last time Zimbabwe played a Test series in Bangladesh was back in January 2005 when the Tigers won the two-match series 1-0.
The 24-member contingent landed at Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport in Dhaka on Friday before going through a test for the Ebola virus.
After the completion of the customary procedure, the visitors headed for the Pan Pacific Sonargaon which will be their base for the next few weeks in Dhaka.
Led by Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe will be hoping to use today’s the warm-up match Bangladesh Cricket Board XI which starts today to acclimatise to the sub-continent conditions.
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The teams will then lock horns in the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur from October 25.
Zimbabwe will be buoyed by the fact that a number of players from their players in the current squad toured Bangladesh last month to play two four-day matches and three one day games representing the Zimbabwe A.
Uncapped players Brian Chari and Wellington Masakadza for instance, had a good outing in that tour.
Top order batsman, Chari was the top-scorer for Zimbabwe A in the 4-day matches while Masakadza’s slow-left armers troubled a number of Bangladeshi batsmen.
Wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller and Vusi Sibanda are a few other players who were present in the Zimbabwe A team in that series. After the first Test in Dhaka, the teams will move to Khulna to play the second Test, which begins from November 3.
The third Test will begin on November 12 in Chittagong.
