Pakistan will now play five ODIs against Zimbabwe. (Source: AP)
The Pakistan cricket team had to delay their departure from Harare to Bulawayo after Zimbabwe cricket association failed to book a hotel for them due to financial issues. Pakistan were earlier scheduled to fly to Bulawayo on Monday but had to stay in a hotel in Harare. The team’s travel was later re-scheduled for Thursday morning after the management made all the provisions.
Zimbabwe cricket has been facing financial issues for quite some time as they recently postponed their domestic tournaments and also failed to make payments to some of the players. The five-match ODI series between the two teams starts from July 13 and will continue till July 22. Pakistan had been in good touch in T20I cricket, maintaining their top position in the rankings after defeating Australia in the final of the tri-series.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, lost all their round-robin matches and could not find a place for themselves in the final. All the five ODIs are scheduled to be played at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. Pakistan would be led by Sarfraz Ahmed while Zimbabwe will have Hamilton Masakadza as their skipper.
Squads
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed(c), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail
Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza(c), Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Ryan Murray, Peter Moor, Tarisai Musakanda, Blessing Muzarabani, Liam Nicholas Roche, Malcolm Waller, Brian Chari, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Tendai Chisoro, Tendai Chatara, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Donald Tiripano