Stand-in Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and elected to bowl in the first of three Twenty20 internationals against Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Monday.
Regular skipper Andrew Balbirnie was rested for the series.
Bangladesh won the preceding three-match one-day international series 2-0.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed
Ireland: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young