The ODI leg of Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour of Pakistan, starting on 30 October, has been moved from Multan to Rawalpindi by Pakistan Cricket Board. The tour comprises of three T20I’s and ODI’s.
The three ODIs were originally scheduled to be held in Multan, but have been moved to Rawalpindi due to logistical and operational challenges.
The change in the venue for ODIs also means that Lahore will now stage the three Twenty20 Internationals which were initially scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi.
The ODI matches in Rawalpindi will be played on 30 October, 1 and 3 November, followed by three T20Is on 7, 8 and 10 November in Lahore.
“After Multan became unavailable due to logistical and operational reasons, we took the opportunity to revisit the entire schedule and have come up with an itinerary that is suitable for the teams, match officials, broadcasters, event staff and other support agencies,” Zakir Khan, director, international cricket, PCB said in a statement. “In the meantime, we are also in regular touch with the Metrological department and seeking their forecast for smog during November.”
Zimbabwe team is set to arrive in Pakistan on 20th October. They will go under a seven day isolation period from 21 to 21 October and will have a practice session very next day.
The Zimbabwe Cricket Union did not state whether their Indian head coach Lal Chand Rajput had been issued visa by Pakistani authorities to travel with the squad or not.
The ODI series is important for both the teams as it will launch their campaign in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
The Super League will serve as a qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 with the top seven sides automatically booking their spots for the event in India.
Featuring 13 teams, the 12 Test playing countries and the Netherlands, the Super League will see each side play four home and four away series of three matches each.
Chamu Chibhabha, who has played three Tests, 104 ODIs and 33 T20Is since his debut in 2016, will lead the visiting Zimbabwe side.