Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan returned to Bangladesh T20 squad after almost one year as the selectors included him in the final two matches against Zimbabwe.

Shakib's last appearance was a Player-of-the-Match performance against Afghanistan in Sylhet in July 2023. He was the captain of the team that time but an eye condition and a finger injury restricted his appearances after the ODI World Cup in October-November 2023.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has replaced him as captain in all formats this year.

Bangladesh had already clinched the five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead. The last two matches will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on May 10 and 12 respectively.

Shakib was rested from the first three matches, which were held in
Chattogram. He, however, played three matches in Dhaka Premier League (DPL) to regain his match fitness.

Shakib's performance with the bat and bowl in those three DPL matches was tremendous. He hit his first century in DPL and in doing so ended his five-year long century draught in professional cricket.

Meanwhile, pacer Shoriful Islam was given rest to manage his workload. Shoriful, who has been playing cricket in all three formats of Bangladesh consistently for the last two years, was off colour in the first two matches against Zimbabwe.

He didn't play the third match and now the team management decided him to rest from the reminder of the series.

BANGLADESH SQUAD (4th & 5th T20)
Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Soumya Sarkar, Tanvir Islam and Mohammad Saifuddin.