Bongani Ndlovu, [email protected]
SIKANDAR Raza will captain Zimbabwe in the upcoming limited-overs tour of the United Arab Emirates, where the Chevrons will face Afghanistan and Bangladesh in an ODI tri-series before taking on Afghanistan in three Twenty20 Internationals.
The multi-format assignment runs from October 17 to November 17, with Zimbabwe also scheduled to play two Test matches against Afghanistan.
Zimbabwe Cricket announced the ODI and T20I squads on Friday, retaining much of the core that featured in recent white-ball assignments.
Raza will lead both limited-overs sides in the absence of pace bowler Richard Ngarava, who is still recovering from a back injury.
The ODI squad largely comprises players who faced Australia in Harare last month, with Tafadzwa Tsiga and Vincent Masekesa earning places in the 15-member team in place of Innocent Kaia and Graeme Cremer.
Tsiga and Masekesa are in contention for their ODI debuts, while Masekesa has also been included in the T20I squad as Zimbabwe look to strengthen their options across formats.
Kaia, who is recovering from a thigh strain, has been included in the T20I squad and is expected to regain full fitness in time for the series.
The batting department features experienced campaigners Raza, Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor, alongside Ben Curran, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani.
Blessing Muzarabani leads the pace attack, which also includes Brad Evans, Ernest Masuku and Newman Nyamhuri. Masekesa joins Wellington Masakadza and the all-rounders among the spin options.
Kundai Matigimu has been named as Evans’ replacement for the third and final T20I.
Zimbabwe begin their UAE assignment with the ODI tri-series against Bangladesh on October 17 before facing Afghanistan two days later.
Afghanistan and Bangladesh meet on October 21 in the final round-robin fixture, with the top two teams progressing to the final on October 23.
The Chevrons will then turn their attention to the T20I series against Afghanistan, with matches scheduled for October 27 and 29 and November 1.
The tour concludes with two Test matches against Afghanistan, running from November 5 to 9 and November 13 to 17.
Zimbabwe Cricket said the Test squad would be announced in the days leading up to the series.
Zimbabwe ODI squad: Sikandar Raza (captain), Ben Curran, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Brendan Taylor, Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine, Ernest Masuku, Newman Nyamhuri, Ryan Burl, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza and Wessly Madhevere.
Zimbabwe T20I squad: Sikandar Raza (captain), Ben Curran, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Brian Bennett, Innocent Kaia, Kundai Matigimu, Newman Nyamhuri, Ryan Burl, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza and Wessly Madhevere
