Former captain Shakib has not played a T20 since July 2023 and was this year elected as a member of parliament for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling party.
Shakib has refused to draw the curtains on his cricket career, and his participation in this series is the strongest indication that he will compete in next month’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
“We expect him to play in the World Cup. This is why he is back in the squad for this series,” Jalal Yunus, the cricket operations chief of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), told AFP.
Left-arm pace bowler Mustafizur was rested for the first three matches after returning from the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he was the season’s joint-highest wicket-taker for the Chennai Super Kings.
Top-order batsman Soumya Sarkar also returned to the side after missing the first three matches due to injury.
Parvez Hossain Emon and Afif Hossain, both named in the squad for the first three matches but neither making the XI, have been left out. Meanwhile, pace bowler Shoriful Islam also rested to accommodate the returning trio.
Bangladesh has already sealed the series 3-0, with the last two matches scheduled in Dhaka on Friday and Sunday.
The Zimbabwe tour is the last home series for Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup kicks off on June 1.
Yunus said the BCB expected to announce its World Cup squad at the end of the series.
Bangladesh Squad
Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Soumya Sarkar, Tanvir Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin.