Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe national cricket team players are in buoyant mood as they gear up for the T20I triangular series which kicks off tomorrow against hosts Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
The Chevrons, who arrived in the Asian country last Thursday to a security scare after a suicide bomb attack in nearby capital Islamabad earlier in the week, stepped up their preparations at the weekend under the watch of coach Justin Sammons.
Sammons told Zimpapers Sports Hub after his first training session last Friday that the team was acclimatising well to the sub-continent conditions, which they are also likely to encounter at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for India and Sri Lanka in February 2026.
As part of the broader World Cup preparations, the Chevrons will play Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a triangular series. The tournament will see each team playing four games in the round robin stage before the top two meet in the final set for November 29.
“We are just really acclimatising to conditions, under lights, the dew factor . . . ,” Sammons said after his first training session.
“So that was good, just a nice technical session. And then tomorrow we’ll get into more competitive stuff. Yeah, but guys are settling in nicely here.”
After Zimbabwe’s first game against Pakistan tomorrow at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, they will then play Sri Lanka on Thursday.
They will have a three-day resting period and then resume the campaign next Sunday against Pakistan, before wrapping up their group matches against Sri Lanka on November 25.
Sammons has high expectations for his team, which has blown hot and cold this year after facing different types of opponents.
“In terms of the expectations of the tour, obviously we want to keep raising our standards and pushing our boundaries.
“And the guys are looking forward to that and looking forward to doing it in different conditions. Obviously, it’s a great sort of preparation for a lot of our guys or for all of the guys for the World Cup.
“And a lot of them haven’t really been here before. So yeah, it’s a great opportunity for us to learn — learn more and make sure we take those learnings with us into the next few months. So, I think everyone is really looking forward to it,” said Sammons.
All the matches of this triangular tournament will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium with enhanced security following a suicide bomb attack scare in Islamabad last week.
Amid the security assurances, Pakistan’s ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi hosted a dinner for the visiting Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe cricket teams at a rooftop restaurant in Islamabad on Saturday.
Afridi hosted the party in the city, not far away from Rawalpindi where the third ODI against Sri Lanka took place yesterday before paving the way for the tri-nation T20I which begins tomorrow.
According to the Pakistani media, the dinner featured traditional dishes that were appreciated by players from both visiting teams.
Pakistan’s ODI and T20I squad members also attended the gathering, sharing casual moments with their Sri Lankan and Zimbabwean counterparts, ahead of the T20I series.
The tri-nation tournament will serve as an important preparatory platform for the three participating teams ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka between February and March 2026.
