Bangladesh are not keen to take anything for granted as they prepare to take on Zimbabwe in the five-match T20I series opener scheduled in Chattogram today.
The Tigers will formally begin its T20 World Cup preparation by taking on Zimbabwe in the shorter format slated at two venues across the country.
The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram will host the opening three matches before the final two T20Is will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
“There is nothing like a big team or small team in this format. 

As you said, Zimbabwe lost the series to Uganda but a few days ago, they beat a strong team like Sri Lanka. So the difference is always subtle in this format,” Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto told reporters ahead of the opening game at the ZACS on Thursday.
“What matters is how we approach this series. The World Cup is knocking at the door so the series is a preparation platform for us. What matters is how we prepare ourselves and how we can gain confidence. I can say that the series will be immensely competitive because they are a very good team,” he said.
"We want to win the series and that’s our first goal,” he added.
Bangladesh will be without their key all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman for the first three matches.
Shakib, who had already returned to the country from USA, is currently featuring in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) to get his match fitness.
Mustafizur also returned to the country on Thursday after featuring for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. However, keeping his fatigue issue in mind, the selectors didn’t keep him in the first three-match squad.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza said that they are expecting to give Bangladesh a run for their money in the series.
“I just hope it’s an entertaining series and inshallah it will be…If you look at our history, the majority of the time, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have played very entertaining cricket. And it will remain the same, inshallah,” he said.
 The match is scheduled to start at 06:00pm (BST) and T Sports will air the match live.