admin
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
FOUR Zimbabwe national cricket team players could be caught between franchise league cricket and national team duty ahead of a busy schedule in the next two months.
The Chevrons are set to kickstart the year at home when they host Ireland for a white ball series in Harare mid-January, before shifting base to Bulawayo where they welcome the West Indies for two Test matches.
However, the schedule is posing a headache for Zimbabwe’s man-of-the-moment Sikandar Raza and compatriots Blessing Muzarabani, Ryan Burl and Sean Williams who have signed up for franchise gigs lined up between January and March.
The quartet have secured contracts to play in the United Araba Emirates, Bangladesh and Pakistan but the dates are overlapping with the Chevrons tours.
Of all the Zimbabwean players, Raza has the busiest schedule. Together with fellow all-rounders Williams and Burl, Raza is set for the Bangladesh Premier League.
The 43-day-long BPL will get underway on January 6 with the grand finale scheduled for February 16.
The BPL starts just a week before Zimbabwe’s scheduled opening T20I match against Ireland at Harare Sports Club. The Chevrons are expected to begin camp on January 4 (next Wednesday) in preparation for the three-match T20I series against Ireland.
This will be followed by a One Day International series that runs from January 18 – 23 in Harare. They will then rest for 11 days before the two Test matches against the West Indies between February 4 and February 16 in Bulawayo.
Raza, in particular, has been in demand by T20 franchises around the world after his brilliant form in the T20 World Cup, where he scored 219 runs and picked up 10 wickets in eight matches.
He has been globetrotting since Zimbabwe’s return from the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, featuring in the Lanka Premier League in Sri Lanka, the Dubai T10 and most recently in the Nepal T20.
He was signed by Rangpur Riders for BPL while Williams was picked by holders and three-time champions Comilla Victorians ahead of the ninth season of the tournament. Burl is in the books of Sylhet Strikers.
Raza and fast bowler Muzarabani are also set for the inaugural International League T20 to be held in the United Arab Emirates from January 13 to February 12. The two were signed by Dubai Capitals for the upcoming gig.
Raza also has a date with the Pakistan Super League, which starts on February 6 and ends on March 19.
The in-form all-rounder, who has featured for the Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in previous editions of the PSL, has been booked to represent the defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the upcoming competition.
The Chevrons star was one of the players in the Gold category of the PSL draft. Players who were signed up from the Gold category are reportedly set to earn between US$40,000 to US$50,000 in salary, according to the Pakistan Observer.
ZC spokesperson Darlington Majonga said ZC have no problem with players going for franchise gigs. He said contracted players have to apply for No Objection Certificates to get permission to play franchise leagues abroad. However, Majonga added that the national team comes first in cases where there were clashes of schedules.
“ZC normally encourages players to play in those international gigs because they get good exposure. But they have to apply for No Objection Certificates, which ZC grants especially when the tournaments are not clashing with international assignments.
“That is why you have seen that a player like Raza has been involved in the Sri Lanka Premier League, the Dubai T10 and Nepal T20.
“But when the franchise tournaments are clashing with international duty, obviously Zimbabwe comes first. So far, I am not sure if anyone has applied for a NOC but that is the standard procedure,” said Majonga.
Their opponents Ireland have since issued out NOCs to some of their key men to miss part of the white-ball series in Zimbabwe.
Veteran batsman Paul Stirling and Lorcan Tucker have been granted approval to miss the T20I series and play in the new International League T20 in UAE, while Josh Little will miss the T20I series to play in the SA20 in South Africa from January 10 to February 11. The players will join the rest of the squad in Zimbabwe for the one-day series.
Cricket Ireland High Performance Director Richard Holdsworth said their policy for contracted players was “Ireland-first by default” but would treat requests for franchise cricket ahead of the national team case-by-case.
“Cricket Ireland’s view on franchise cricket involvement by our contracted players is that it’s Ireland-first by default. However, on a case-by-case basis, where an opportunity to leverage a franchise league offer may provide a benefit to the Irish set-up or player development, we will consider flexibility in selection.
“It goes without saying that proximity to major tournaments or where the head coach would prefer to have the players available for international matches, that will be the priority.
“The recent success of our senior squad on the world stage has attracted the attention of a range of franchise tournaments — we take this as both a positive sign of our trajectory as a cricket nation and long overdue recognition for the talent on this island.
“This month alone eight of our senior squad have been involved in franchise leagues, and we expect the demand for Irish talent will only grow over coming years,” he said.
Online Reporter