ZIM vs BAN: Sean Williams, Craig Ervine and Kevin Kasuza to miss one-off Test

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are all set to lock horns against each other for a one-off Test that would kick start from July 7. However, ahead of this Test match, the Zimbabwe team have to deal with a big blow. Their two players, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have been ruled out of the first Test match against Bangladesh.

Williams and Ervine came in contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case owing to which they have to be out of the side. Both of them are currently in self-isolation and will thus miss the game. Kevin Kasuza will also miss the match due to injury. On the other hand, in the absence of Sean Williams, Brendan Taylor will take up the mantle of captaincy for the Zimbabwe side.

After the one-off Test, the two sides will face off each other for three ODI matches and as many T20I games. The ODIs will start from July 16 whereas the T20Is will commence from July 13. In between these fixtures, the two sides will also be playing a practice match on July 14.

Testing times for Zimbabwe and Bangladesh

Bangladesh had previously registered two big triumphs against Zimbabwe in their last two Test match encounters. Thus, moving ahead Bangladesh seems to have a little edge over Zimbabwe and would be the favourites for the game. However, Bangladesh did not have a decent form in the inaugural World Test Championship. They finished last on the table and would be keen to bring some form back in the red-ball cricket.

For Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor will have a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder for scoring runs for the side. Now that he is also appointed as the captain, it would further add to the expectations. Taylor stands out for the Zimbabwe team as he is the only batter to score over 1,000 runs in the Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Test matches. Thus, the hopes will highly rely on him to make a mark and fetch a win in the match. It would be interesting to see how he does in the match as a player and now the newly appointed captain.