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DHAKA.— Zimbabwe batsman Brendan Taylor has said his side’s performance in the recent series against Sri Lanka would motivate them to do well against Bangladesh in the one-off Test cricket later this month.

Zimbabwe, playing their first Test series in more than a year, pushed Sri Lanka hard in two home matches in January before narrowly going down 0-1.

They lost the first Test, and then an unbeaten second-innings century from Kusal Mendis denied them a series levelling-win in the second Test.

“We have had two good Test matches that went five days against Sri Lanka. We took a lot of positives from that. Hopefully, we can carry that on to the first Test (against Bangladesh),” Taylor told reporters at Dhaka airport on Saturday.

Zimbabwe will play their Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium from February 22.

“Bangladesh have always been very difficult to . . . (beat) here. We know what we are up against . . . But we look forward to it,” said the 34-year-old Taylor.

Bangladesh are currently in a bad run of form in Tests, losing their last six matches — three of them by an innings margin — but Taylor warned that would not give his side any leverage.

“I think they always play well at home. That’s their comfort zone, where they thrive . . . and always have a good record,” he said.

Batsman Craig Ervine will lead Zimbabwe in the Bangladesh Test, with regular skipper Sean Williams missing the game to be with his family for the birth of his child.

Zimbabwe will also play three one-day internationals and two Twenty20s during the Bangladesh tour in March.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh have dropped middle-order batsman Mahmudullah in one of four changes to the squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe next week.

Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain and Soumya Sarkar have been axed, while there were comebacks for Mushfiqur Rahim, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Rookie medium-pacer Hasan Mahmud and batsman Yasir Ali have also earned their first Test call-ups.

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin suggested that senior batsman Mahmudullah needed a break from red-ball cricket, after scoring just one half-century in his last ten Test innings, before which he had hit centuries in back-to-back Tests in Dhaka, against West Indies, and in Hamilton.

“We felt that Mahmudullah needed a break from the red ball,” he said. “Al-Amin has niggles and that’s why we thought he should be given the time to be fully ready for the limited-overs matches (three ODIs and two T20Is) where he is more important. Rubel is not part of our red-ball plans for the moment. Soumya had applied for a leave and therefore has not been considered.

“I believe we have selected the best possible Test squad under present circumstances. There is a very nice blend of experience and potential. It is unfortunate that some players had to miss out but our priority has been to ensure balance and continuity.”

About the two newcomers, Minhajul said, “We think Hasan Mahmud and Yasir Ali Chowdhury have tremendous potential and they are very much part of our future plans. Yasir is from our high-performance squad, and he has done well in the BCL recently. We want to develop upon his potential.” Yasir has averaged 60.28 in five first-class matches in the last 12 months, while Mahmud has been picked based on his potential, because his recent form hasn’t been great: he has picked up only six wickets in three matches at an average of 40.83 in the last year.

Meanwhile, Mushfiqur has returned after opting out of the Pakistan Tests because of security concerns. Mehidy and Taskin have been recalled after regaining full fitness following injury layoffs, and Mustafizur convinced the selectors of his ability in the long-form game with six wickets in Central Zone’s last Bangladesh Cricket League game. “We picked Taskin as we need a consistently quick bowler,” Minhajul said. “I believe his fitness problem during the BCL is now over.”

Bangladesh Squad

Mominul Haque (C), Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Litton Das, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadat Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali. — AFP.