As a young fast bowler from Bangladesh, Nahid Rana has quickly become a name that batters look out for.  Because of his lightning-fast speed and tough line, Rana is already the talk of the town before the Test match against Zimbabwe.

The fiery pacer who has been terrorising batters in local cricket is the centre of attention as the first Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe draws near.  They are not taking any risks, even though Rana will only play in the first Test before going for the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine, speaking at a pre-match press conference, acknowledged the challenge of facing Rana and emphasized the importance of mental preparation to face such raw pace. “When you face someone like Nahid Rana, nowadays, there's always footage that goes around, so you can look at that footage and analyze that footage and that. But again, you can't really look too much into it until you get into the middle and actually place them. There's not a lot you can do. I think it's just preparing your mindset for it. And that's pretty much what we're going to do.”

Rana’s inclusion in the XI for the opening Test seems almost certain, given his current form and the threat he poses with the new ball. Earlier, senior Zimbabwean all-rounder Sean Williams had revealed that the team had been using high-speed bowling machines to simulate Rana's pace in training.

Craig Ervine also hinted that the pitch might offer some help to the seamers — something that could make Rana even more dangerous. “I think we can probably expect it to be a little bit more seam friendly with the grass and stuff that's on the wicket. So we've had some good couple of days training in the practice nets at the back. So I think, going into tomorrow, we're obviously confident. I think our preparations will be really good, so we're looking forward to it,” Ervine added.