Recalls likely for older hands

Thanks to Zimbabwe's victory in the third T20I, the fourth and final game today promises a lot more excitement. This will be Bangladesh's 50th T20I game and they will be looking to mark the landmark with a victory. Incidentally, their first T20I game was also against Zimbabwe at the same venue in November 2006, a match that they won.

The visitors had their backs against the wall prior to Wednesday and having overcome the obstacle, they will now be able to play with a lot more confidence. Having gone down to Afghanistan recently, a draw against Bangladesh away from home can help them gain much-needed confidence.

The Bangladeshi side, on the other hand, is most likely going to take a step back from its initial strategy of providing all the new players with enough game time and bring some changes in order to ensure a series victory.

After the last game, there is a good chance that the team management will include Tamim Iqbal and Arafat Sunny in the playing eleven. If Tamim enters the side, he will replace Imrul Kayes, while Sunny may come in place of Muktar Ali.

Taskin Ahmed may also enter the fray and replace Mohammad Shahid.

While the team's makeup in the third T20I was criticised heavily, team manager Khaled Mahmud defended the tactic.

“We gave these players enough chances to play because of a bad experience we had during the 2015 World Cup. When Al-Amin Hossain and Anamul Haque had to go they were replaced by Shafiul Islam and Imrul Kayes.

Bangladesh players celebrate the fall of wicket during a T20 match. File Photo: STAR

“Shafiul was still unfit and Imrul didn't perform well. They weren't ready to play. And we don't want that to be repeated. That's the reason why we want them to get as much game-time as possible, so that they can all be ready,” Mahmud said yesterday.

“There's nothing to worry about. We are still one match ahead and we are all confident of winning the series,” he added.

The key player for Bangladesh in the final game will be Sabbir Rahman. The batsman has been in form throughout the series and has scored 139 runs so far.

Sabbir has managed to do what most of the other Bangladeshi batsmen have not. He has managed to stay at the crease and play longer innings. His half-century in the last match suggests that he is capable of doing more.

Another player who impressed in the last game was Nurul Hasan. Although the wicketkeeper-batsman came in to bat late, his smooth scoops and charge towards the end suggests that the youngster is quite capable of making the World Cup squad.

Akin to Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, according to coach Dav Whatmore, is also expected to make changes to their side. They may bring back their skipper Elton Chigumbura for the final game.

Malcolm Waller, who has enjoyed whacking Bangladesh's bowlers ever since the end of last year, will be the key player for the visitors.