PCB announces Zimbabwe tour schedule
The five-match limited-overs series contains two T20Is and three ODIs.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Pakistan is all set to host top-notch cricket for the first time in six years when Zimbabwe commences its tour on May 19. The five-match limited-overs series contains two T20Is and three ODIs, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a press release.
Zimbabwe become the first ICC full-member nation to visit Pakistan since the 2009 terrorist attack on Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore.
The Pakistan Cricket Board and Cricket Zimbabwe have signed the MoU, the itinerary has been agreed upon and Cricket Zimbabwe has duly intimated the ICC of its intent to visit Pakistan between May 19 and June 1, 2015.
“I am grateful to my counterpart in Cricket Zimbabwe, Wilson Manase, for acceding to our request of sending a full side on a tour to Pakistan.
“This would be an auspicious moment for Pakistan cricket and I am positive that it would open doors of international cricket in Pakistan. Kenya have already been here for five matches against Pakistan ‘A’ and I am indeed confident that Zimbabwe’s incident-free tour shall be the harbinger of more and more associate and full member nations visiting us in the months and years to come”, said PCB Chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan.
The Cricket Zimbabwe’s security team will visit Lahore on May 4 with a mandate to review just the security arrangements put in place by the PCB with the full backing and support of the Punjab government and various provincial and federal law enforcement agencies.
“We vigorously tried to convince Cricket Zimbabwe to split the matches between Lahore and Karachi but the visiting team’s members expressed concern on extensive travelling, and their request had to be accommodated”, said a PCB spokesman.
CRICKET ZIMBABWE CONFIRMS THE TOUR
In a press conference in Harare, Cricket Zimbabwe chief Wilson Manase said: "I can confirm that Zimbabwe will visit Pakistan in May… We had a duty to ensure the parents of the players, the players and government are on board before announcing the tour… We have taken cognizance of all the factors for us to arrive at this decision, so let’s not be alarmist about the situation in Pakistan,"
The CEO Cricket Zimbabwe Alistair Campbell said: “We are touring Pakistan as a measure of establishing bilateral relations between us and them; they [Pakistan] will also come to Zimbabwe in August.”
The tour itinerary, all matches at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore:
May 19: Team Zimbabwe arrives
May 22: First T20I
May 24: Second T20I
May 26: First ODI
May 29: Second ODI
May 31: Third ODI
June 01: Team Zimbabwe departs
