ZIMBABWE have been dealt a heavy blow on the eve of their one-off Test against Bangladesh after captain Sean Williams and senior batsman Craig Ervine were dropped from the squad to self-isolate after coming into contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19.
However, the developments present yet another golden opportunity for the young players who have been knocking on the Test door to put up their hands and be counted against the Tigers, who are poor travellers in this format of the game.
One player who has put pressure on the selection panel headed by David Mutendera is former Zimbabwe Under-19 captain Dion Myers.
Myers had a good outing against a strong South Africa A lineup scoring a half-century in the first innings of the first four-day game before sitting out the second innings due to a concussion he had suffered while batting.
His performance came hard on the heels of a tremendous first-class debut season in which he scored his maiden first-class hundred.
The unavailability of Prince Masvaure presents the selectors with another headache on who will partner Kevin Kasuza at the top order.
Takudzwanashe Kaitano is the natural opener in the 20-man squad announced by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). He looked comfortable against South Africa A but did not turn heads in his bid to make the position his own.
The selectors may choose to open with Kasuza and Milton Shumba on what is expected to be a spicy deck as they seek to unsettle the visitors who do not enjoy facing the moving ball.
Shumba was the stand-out batsman against South Africa A, and he opened the batting in the warm-up match against Bangladesh, which may indicate how the selectors may want to use him.
Regis Chakabva looks like he will slot right back at first drop, a position he thrived on in the series against Pakistan despite keeping wicket for an extended period.
As the second most senior player in the team after stand-in captain Brendan Taylor, Chakabva, whose only Test hundred is against Bangladesh, will seek to continue from where he left against Pakistan if Zimbabwe entertains any hopes winning the solitary Test.
Batting continues to be Zimbabwe’s Achilles heel and the middle order led by Taylor will have to do better than they did against Pakistan.
Zimbabwe will have to deal with Taskin Ahmed in seaming conditions and face a left-arm spin from Shakib Al Hassan.
The hosts may choose to go for a four-pace attack going by the wicket prepared by the Harare Sports Club curator.
Tendai Chatara is set to bounce back into the Test fold. If the selectors decide to go with the Donald Tiripano, either Victor Nyauchi or Richard Ngarava will miss out as Blessing Muzarabani spearheads the attack.
Bangladesh have headaches of their own as they sweat over the fitness of Tamim Iqbal.
However, they welcome back the mercurial Mushfiqur Rahim, who has since recovered from a finger injury.
The importance of the all-round abilities of Shakib to Bangladesh cannot be overstated.
He also has a good record against Zimbabwe.
However, if the conditions suit Zimbabwe fast bowlers, Muzarabani, fresh from winning the Pakistan Super League with the Multans, will be very useful and could propel Zimbabwe to another Test victory at home against Bangladesh.
Both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are at different phases in their rebuilding. A win for either side will indicate how much progress the winning team has made and, more importantly, how the young players respond to pressure situations.
Probable Zimbabwe Team:
Kasuza Kevin
Takudzwanashe Kaitano
Milton Shumba
Regis Chakabva
Brendan Taylor (Captain)
Dion Myers
Roy Kaia
Donald Tiripano
Tendai Chatara
Blessing Muzarabani
Richard Ngarava
