Bangladesh is set to host Zimbabwe for a two-Test series starting on April 20th. Initially, these matches were intended to be played in April 2024 as five T20 Internationals, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to change the format.
The Zimbabwe team is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on April 15th. The first Test match will be held at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Following this, both teams will travel to Chattogram for the second Test, which will be played at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from April 28th. This series will not be part of the World Test Championship as Zimbabwe is not a participating team in the WTC.
Zimbabwe’s recent Test performance has been challenging, having lost eight of their last ten Test matches and drawing the other two. This year, they played two single-Test matches against Afghanistan and Ireland in Bulawayo and were defeated in both. Their last Test victory was in March 2021 against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, marking a four-year winless streak.
In contrast, Bangladesh has found Test success primarily in overseas conditions recently. They achieved a 2-0 victory in Pakistan and then drew a series 1-1 against the West Indies. However, their last home Test win was in November 2023 against New Zealand in Sylhet. In 2024, they faced home series losses of 2-0 against both Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The last time Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe for a Test match was in February 2020, where they won by an innings and 106 runs. Their most recent Test encounter was in July 2021, where Bangladesh won by 220 runs in Harare.
Historically, in the 18 Test matches played between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Bangladesh holds a slight advantage with 8 wins compared to Zimbabwe’s 7. Zimbabwe’s last Test win against Bangladesh was in 2018.
