Afghanistan shifts Zim series to UAE

Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Afghanistan Cricket Board has shifted the series against Zimbabwe to the United Arab Emirates from Oman, with the fixtures also moved to March.

ACB had in early January opted for Oman for the series that consists of two Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals. Those plans had received a boost after the International Cricket Council cleared the Oman Cricket Academy Ground 1 at Al Amarat for Test match cricket. However, the ACB seems to have had a change of plan with Abu Dhabi the new venue for the showdown with Zimbabwe.

It could not be ascertained what necessitated the venue change but the announcement by the Omani government that all gatherings, international functions and sporting events are to be stopped in the country with immediate effect is likely to have forced ACB to move the matches to UAE.

Zimbabwe Cricket managing director, Givemore Makoni said the latest communication from the ACB indicates that the tour is now taking place in UAE and not Oman. Sheikh Zayed Stadium, which recently hosted the three One Day Internationals between Afghanistan and Ireland is the only international cricket venue in Abu Dhabi.

“We are playing in Abu Dhabi. We were meant to be in Oman but we got communication from the Afghanistan Cricket Board that they have moved the series to Abu Dhabi. There is no itinerary as yet. We have agreed on the dates and now waiting for ACB to send us the Memorandum of Understanding to sign,’’ Makoni said.

According to Makoni, ZC could not agree on any dates because they had not yet been cleared by the Government through the Sports and Recreation Commission to embark on the tour. The clearance came on Tuesday.

“We could not agree since we had not been cleared by the SRC, they are doing an MOU so we can sign. They are hosting the tour so they draft the MOU which also contains the itinerary,’’ he said.

Makoni emphasised that they were more than willing to meet all conditions given to them by the SRC when clearing the tour.

As part of preparations for the series with Afghanistan, ZC have picked regional teams to prepare in Harare. The women regional sides are also gearing up for the visit to Zimbabwe by Pakistan for three one-dayers as well as two T20 matches, with the one-dayers on 11, 13 and 15 February while the T20 games are penciled in for 18 and 20 February at Harare Sports Club. — @Mdawini_29