 when they face Bangladesh in the three-match series which begins in Harare on Friday.){kind=link}
Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Regis Chakabva has backed his teammates to carry their fearless approach from the shortest format to the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) when they face Bangladesh in the three-match series which begins in Harare on Friday.
The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was on Thursday named captain for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh, taking over the reins as regular skipper Craig Ervine, who has been rested to help him recover from his recent niggles.
Allrounder Sean Williams will also not take part in the series as he has been given time off to attend to personal matters.
“It’s unfortunate to lose Craig but It is an honour for me, one that I will definitely cherish,” Chakabva said.
“I believe I’m a cool, calm guy so I will try to be myself. I’ve learnt a lot of Craig and all the other guys that I have seen captaining before so I don’t think I will do anything really different,” he said.
Zimbabwe will head into the ODI series with their confidence high after registering their first ever T20I series win against Bangladesh after clinching the three-match series 2-1.
A key feature in Zimbabwe’s performances against the Bangladesh side was the way they played positive, aggressive cricket even in difficult situations.
And Chakabva sees no reason why his team should back down from that approach that new head coach Dave Houghton has been instilling in his players.
“We’ve been playing some good, positive cricket and we are obviously looking forward to a good challenge with Bangladesh. We expect to keep playing the way we have been looking to play and hopefully, the results will follow from that,” Chakabva revealed.
“Obviously, ODI cricket is a different challenge and you have to play well for longer, you’re not going to play T20 cricket in a one-day game but we are looking to play positive cricket and hopefully do that for a longer period of time.”
Despite a recent improvement in T20 cricket, Zimbabwe’s ODI record remains dismal and they will be eager for a turnaround of fortunes against the Tigers.
The Chevrons however face an uphill task as they are yet to register a series win against Bangladesh in a bilateral ODI series since May 2013 when they won 2-1 in a three-match series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Since then, Zimbabwe has suffered consecutive 3-0 whitewash loses against the Tigers in their last four ODI series in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021, while they were also whitewashed 5-0 in the subcontinent in 2014.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has included openers Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Tarisai Musakanda in the 15-member squad to face Bangladesh.
The rest of the squad comprises of players who featured in Zimbabwe’s T20I series victory over Bangladesh recently.
The three-match ODI series kicks off on Friday at Harare Sports Club, followed by two more games at the same venue on Sunday and August 10.
Zimbabwe Squad:
Regis Chakabva (C), Ryan Burl, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tarisai Musakanda, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba