Despite the fact that there were few fresh faces in Bangladesh's batting department to provide freedom to the relatively younger players in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, it was a full-strength bowling attack, barring the absent Shakib Al Hasan, that was made to look ordinary in Harare yesterday.

Following a host of discussions about revamping the T20I side following the Tigers’ poor performances in the shortest format of the game, national selectors opted for two fresh faces, including pacer Hasan Mahmud and uncapped opener Parvez Hossain Emon in the 14-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series in Zimbabwe.

Hosts Zimbabwe and the Netherlands filled the last two places for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia by winning their qualifying tournament semi-finals in Bulawayo on Friday.

Boycotts, protests and the occasional surprise victory once ensured Zimbabwe's place in cricket's consciousness, yet now they are battling for relevance, reduced to facing Singapore, Jersey and the United States this month for a World Cup berth.

Bangladesh star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan will be unavailable for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, the all-rounder had already informed it to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Zimbabwe cricketer Brendon Taylor returns to the Zimbabwe setup after a gap of two and a half years.

Opener Dhananjaya de Silva struck an unbeaten 78 to help Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by eight wickets on Monday in the opening match of the triangular one-day tournament that also features West Indies.

Zimbabwe recruit Makhaya Ntini and Marvan Atapattu to be assistant coach and batting consultant respectively, according to a report published today on the Zimbabwe Cricket website.