Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, 2015-16

The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced they would be hosting four Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe just ten days before the first match at Khulna's Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium. Even that was a late switch from Sylhet, and the hurried nature of the series was illustrated by gaps in the stands where there had been no time to replace broken seats. Spectators had to sit on the floor.

This was not the first time Zimbabwe had visited Bangladesh in 2015-16. They had already met in November for three 50-over and two 20-over games, another hasty arrangement after Australia postponed their tour because of security concerns. And the November matches were originally part of a trip scheduled for January 2016, which would have included three Tests. But, as the ICC had abandoned responsibility for the Future Tours Programme in 2014, the BCB and Zimbabwe Cricket were free to chop and change; BCB president Nazmul Hassan apparently overruled the cricket committee's recommendation of playing a Test alongside these Twenty20s.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe declared this would be a series for experimentation ahead of the Asia Cup and World Twenty20. His opposite number Dav Whatmore said the same: Bangladesh used 18 players, Zimbabwe 15. The matches were eventually tied 2-2 after Bangladesh had won the first two quite easily. Zimbabwe's Hamilton Masakadza stood apart, with 222 runs at a strike-rate of 145 - the first man to reach 200 in a bilateral Twenty20 series. Dropped a few months earlier and recalled only at the end of the year, he was appointed Zimbabwe's captain on their return home; Elton Chigumbura had stood down shortly after the win that levelled this series.

Bangladesh were jolted by the two defeats, but said they had succeeded in trying out potential players for the World Twenty20. Only one of those making their international debut here, left-arm seamer Abu Haider, eventually played in that tournament; the others proved that Bangladeshi Twenty20 cricket still needed more depth.

Match reports for

1st Match: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Khulna, Jan 15, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd Match: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Khulna, Jan 17, 2016
Report | Scorecard

3rd Match: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Khulna, Jan 20, 2016
Report | Scorecard

4th Match: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Khulna, Jan 22, 2016
Report | Scorecard