After losing an ODI series at home (1-2) for the first time since the year 2016, Bangladesh will take on England in a three-match T20I series, the first of which takes place on March 09 (Thursday) at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
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Veteran allrounder Shakib Al Hasan will lead the Bangladesh T20I squad, which includes as many as five new faces, including three uncapped players. While allrounder Shamim Hossain and top-order batter Rony Talukdar have made it to the squad after a gap of two years and eight years respectively, the likes of batter Towhid Hridoy, pacer Rejaur Rahman Raja and left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam have earned their maiden call-ups. In fact, almost all of these newcomers have been rewarded for their impressive performances during the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League.
England, who will play their first T20I today since lifting the T20 World Cup 2022, will more or less field a majority of players who were part of the ODI series, with Ben Duckett and Chris Jordan as the two other additions.
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch report
The first T20I between these sides at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium will be played on the very pitch where the third ODI was played last Monday.
Hence, one should expect the wicket to remain dry, play on the slower side while aiding the spinners throughout the match duration. It might well turn out to be a much hard working day for the fast bowlers who are not likely to get assistance/movement off the pitch, and will have to rely on their executions of the variations in their casket.
Across the 12 T20 matches played at this venue this year, the average score posted by the seven teams has been 159.4 runs. The batters will get the reward after getting used to the slowness of the pitch.
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium to host a T20I after more than three years
The stadium last hosted a T20I in September 2019, when hosts Bangladesh had defeated Afghanistan by 4 wickets while chasing the target of 139 runs.
The last ODI ‘Player of the Match’ Shakib Al Hasan, had walked away with the award during the above mentioned T20I as well, for his knock of 70* (45) and bowling figures of 4-0-24-1.
