Bangladesh’s wicket-keeper batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim has opted out of the upcoming T20 series against Zimbabwe. Bangladesh are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe for one Test, three ODIs, and as many T20Is.

While Rahim would play the one-off Test match and three ODIs, he has made himself unavailable for the T20 series. The wicket-keeper has reportedly made this decision to remain himself fit for the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand.

Minajul Abedin, Bangladesh’s chief selector, has confirmed the news. However, BCB is yet to take a final call on Mushfiqur Rahim’s request.

“Mushfiqur called me today and wanted to opt out from the T20 series against Zimbabwe. We are yet to take a decision in this regard but we must respect their decisions in such cases,” Minhajul Abedin Bangladesh Chief Selector said while talking to Cricbuzz.

In his international cricket career, Mushfiqur Rahim has managed to play 86 T20 internationals, scoring 1282 runs at an average of 20.0 and a strike rate of 120. He has 5 half-centuries to his name in the shortest format of the game.

Bangladesh to play one Test, three ODIs and T20Is each against Zimbabwe

The fixtures between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will start on 7th July. The Bangladesh Cricket Team is expected to reach Zimbabwe on 29th June. Depending on the covid-19 protocols, Bangladesh will decide whether they would opt for practice games or not.

If the players are told to isolate for five days, the players might play practice games within squads on 3rd and 4th July 2021. However, if their isolation period extends to 7 days, then they won’t be practicing at all for the tour.

The tourists, however, have scheduled to play a warm-up game on July 14, two days ahead of the ODI series. The T20I series will commence on July 23 and all the limited-overs matches will be played at Harare Sports Club.