table of contents
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) on Tuesday (June 23) announced a 15-man squad for its upcoming one-off Test against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Club. The responsibility of captaining the team in the Test will be on fast bowler Richard Nagarava.
This will be his first match as captain of the national team in this format. The host nation has made several changes compared to its previous team, which had achieved a big win against Afghanistan.
Sikandar Raza will not play in the test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh
Experienced batting all-rounder Sikandar Raza is among the notable absentees in the latest squad. Raza has given the go-ahead to fulfill his commitments with Worcestershire in England’s T20 Blast.
“However, Zimbabwe will be without Sikandar Raza, who has been allowed to fulfill his commitments with Worcestershire County Cricket Club for the remainder of the 2026 Vitality Blast campaign in England,” the cricket board said on its official website.
Richard Ngarwa took 5 wickets against Afghanistan
Chevron last played a Test match against Afghanistan in October last year. Against the Afghans, Chevron achieved a landslide victory, winning the match by an innings and 73 runs.
Richard Ngarwa performed impressively with his bowling and took 5 wickets in the match. Brad Evans was another bowler who took 5 wickets for the team in the match, and with the bat Ben Curran scored a century at the same venue where they would face Bangladesh. The one-off Test against Bangladesh will start from June 28.
For the upcoming Test, the home team has made some interesting choices in their team selection. There are five players who missed the Test against Afghanistan have retained their places to face the Tiger Brigade.
The Cricket Governing Board revealed during the squad announcement that Innocent Kaiya, Graeme Cremer, Tadivanashe Marumani, Wesley Madhewere and Newman Nyamauri have been recalled after strong performances in domestic and representative cricket.
Bangladesh had to share the glory last year
While announcing the squad, the hosts mentioned that last year, when they faced Bangladesh for a 2-match Test series in Bangladesh, they had shared the glory as Zimbabwe won the opening match, and Bangladesh took the second match on their home soil. The upcoming encounter is expected to be another exciting one between the two countries.
“The upcoming encounter renews the growing Test rivalry between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The two sides last met in a two-match series in Bangladesh in April and May last year, with the competition ending one-all.”
The official press release further stated, “Zimbabwe recorded a memorable three-wicket win in the opening Test of that series, their first win in this format in four years, before Bangladesh leveled the series in the second match.”
ZC are hopeful of good results as they have tried to field a well-balanced team with a mix of experience and emerging talent.
Zimbabwe team: Richard Ngarawa (captain), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chiwanga, Graeme Cremer, Ben Curran, Craig Erwin, Brad Evans, Innocent Kaiya, Roy Kaiya, Wesley Madhewere, Tadivanashe Marumani, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamauri, Brendan Taylor, Tafadzwa Tsiga.
