LAHORE – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has released the schedule of cricket series comprising three T20 and two Test matches to be played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Harare from April 21.
Pakistan will become the first men’s international cricket side to play in Zimbabwe in the post-Covid-19 era.
The Pakistan side will arrive in Harare from Johannesburg on 17 April, where the five matches will take place from 21 April to 11 May with the T20Is to start at 1400 PST and the two Tests will commence at 1230 Pakistan Standard Time.
After the T20Is on 21, 23 and 25 April, Babar Azam’s side will play Zimbabwe in two Tests, the first of which will begin on 29 April. This will mark the first instance of the two sides facing off in the pinnacle format of the game since September 2013. This was also Pakistan’s last Test on Zimbabwean soil.
The second Test will commence on 7 May.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan men’s cricket sides have toured England and New Zealand, besides hosting Zimbabwe and South Africa. Pakistan Shaheens also toured New Zealand alongside the men’s side, while the women’s sides visited South Africa and Zimbabwe, the tour that was curtailed due to suspension in flight operations. Next month, Pakistan U19 squad will tour Bangladesh for a four-day and five 50-over-side matches.
This underscores the Pakistan Cricket Board’s commitment to play an active role in ensuring that international cricket remains on track in these challenging and uncertain times.
Pakistan men’s national cricket team for the Zimbabwe tour:
T20I: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Asif Ali (Northern), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)
Test: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh, subject to fitness), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Tabish Khan (Sindh) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab)
Players Support Personnel – Mansoor Rana (Manager), Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Col (retd) Khalid Mahmood (security manager), Malang Ali (masseur), Raza Kitchlew (Digital and media manager), Dr Riaz Ahmed (team doctor), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Usman Hashmi (analyst), Waqar Younis (bowling coach), Yasir Malik (strength & conditioning coach) and Younis Khan (batting coach).
Zimbabwe tour schedule (T20Is start at 1400 PST, Tests to begin at 1230 PST):
21 April – 1st T20I v Zimbabwe; Harare Sports Club, Harare
23 April – 2nd T20I v Zimbabwe; Harare Sports Club, Harare
25 April – 3rd T20I v Zimbabwe; Harare Sports Club, Harare
29 April-3May – 1st Test v Zimbabwe; Harare Sports Club, Harare
7-11 May – 2nd Test v Zimbabwe; Harare Sports Club, Harare
