This is not the most significant Bangladesh-Australia fixture that will take place on Wednesday. At the women's T20 World Cup in England. the two sides will meet at Headingley in a game with much more riding on it. However, after securing a famous series victory in the ODIs,. very nearly burgling a 3-0 sweep, Bangladesh 's men will be eyeing another over Australia in a three-match T20I series. Unlike the ODI format. it is something they have managed before, winning 4-1 when Australia visited in 2021 during the Covid era.
As on that occasion, Australia are missing some key names with Travis Head having been granted personal leave. Cameron Green rested, alongside the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are also missing with an eye to the future. However. they will have captain Mitchell Marsh available again following injury as they begin the process of rebuilding after the woeful T20 World Cup, where they crashed out in the group stage.
The likes of Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly. the uncapped duo of Nikhil Chaudhary and Joel Davies will be hoping to show they can be part of the future leading into a bumper 2028 for T20Is, which includes the Olympics and the next World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Bangladesh ended up withdrawing from the previous T20 World Cup so. providing they qualify, it will be four years between appearances for them. Since missing the tournament they have played one series where they drew 1-1 with New Zealand. They have kept the fast-bowling attack together that caused Australia plenty of problems in the ODIs, with Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam. Nahid Rana - who has only one T20I cap to his name - all part of the squad.
Form guide Bangladesh LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first) Australia WLLWL
In the spotlight: Shoriful Islam and Spencer Johnson
Shoriful Islam almost propelled Bangladesh to a remarkable victory in the final ODI in his first game of the series,. in his previous T20I against New Zealand claimed 3 for 19, so he would be able to count himself unlucky if he didn't keep his place in the side. But with three games in five days, there may be some rotation among the pace bowlers.
Australia's attack lacked pace at the T20 World Cup, so Spencer Johnson 's return to fitness is encouraging for them. The selectors will hope the left-arm quick can stay on the park. fill the void created by Mitchell Starc's retirement from T20Is. He played three times for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026 recently.
Bangladesh could go with Mustafizur, Taskin and Rana in their T20I line-up, but can they leave out Shoriful? Soumya Sarkar has been added to the squad as cover for captain Litton Das who is an uncertain starter after the leg injury. forced him to retire hurt in the final ODI. Parvez Hossain is also 50-50 due to illness.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan. 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Parvez Hossain Emon, 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Shoriful Islam/Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Nahid Rana
There are a number of ways Australia could make up their XI. After his stunning ODI century, Connolly may remain at the top of the order. Chaudhary or Davies, uncapped allrounders, could be in line for a debut.
Australia (possible): 1 Mitchell Marsh (capt). 2 Josh Inglis (wk), 3 Cooper Connolly, 4 Tim David, 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Aaron Hardie, 7 Nikhil Chaudhary/Joel Davies, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Adam Zampa
The sides batting first have averaged 159 in Chattogram in the last 12 months. The last three teams batting first haven't won. Weather-wise, there's afternoon rain in the forecast.
Adam Zampa needs three wickets to reach 150 in T20Is - the next most for Australia is 79 for Hazlewood. Starc. Overall, these two sides have played 11 T20Is against each other with Australia leading 7-4. Australia's only previous white-ball match in Chattogram was an ODI in 2006.
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