Pakistan’s ODI series against Zimbabwe shifted from Multan to Rawalpindi

The ODI leg of Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan, starting Friday, October 30, has been shifted from Multan to Rawalpindi. The same was confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday, October 11. The tour also consists of three T20Is, beginning on Saturday, November 7 and all the encounters will take place at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Back in August, Pakistan returned to international cricket amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. They played a full-fledged T20I and Test series against England after a quarantining in the country for around a month. As far as the Zimbabwe ODIs are concerned, Multan won’t be hosting due to “logistical and operational” reasons.

“After Multan became unavailable due to logistical and operational reasons, we took the opportunity to revisit the entire schedule and have come up with an itinerary that is suitable for the teams, match officials, broadcasters, event staff and other support agencies,” Zakir Khan, PCB Director (International Cricket), was quoted as saying in a statement.

Zimbabwe to arrive in Pakistan on October 20

The Zimbabwe cricket team, led by Chamu Chibhabha, are scheduled arrive in Islamabad on October 20 and will be undergoing a seven-day quarantine period from October 21 to 27. Thereafter, the team will be starting their practice at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The ODIs are also a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

The visitors have already announced a 20-member jumbo squad for the tour. Back in 2015, Zimbabwe had toured Pakistan when hosting international was a tough ask for the latter due to security reasons. On that tour they played three ODIs and a couple of T20Is.

Back in March, the coronavirus outbreak led to cancellation of the third leg of their series against Bangladesh. It comprised off an ODI and Test at the National Stadium in Karachi. After their tour of England, a few of their players played in the T20 Blast.

At the present point in time, Pakistan cricketers are busy playing in the National T20 Cup. To add to their delight, the playoffs of the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL) will also get underway on November 14 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.