The former England batter Gary Ballance, who signed a two-year contract with Zimbabwe Cricket, has been added to the Zimbabwe squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland.
A few key players are missing for Zimbabwe as they named their squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland later in the month.
Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, Regis Chakabva and Milton Shumba miss out on Zimbabwe’s T20I squad for the series that begins mid-January.
The team has four changes from the squad that played the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia last year, the most notable being the addition of former England player Gary Ballance, who recently signed a two-year deal with Zimbabwe to play domestic and international cricket.
Ballance was released from Yorkshire after a lengthy stint that began in 2007 and returned to Zimbabwe to represent his home country.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Zimbabwe Cricket and can’t wait to start work with some great coaches and talented players. The opportunity to represent Zimbabwe has given me a new-found passion and excitement for the game,” Ballance was quoted as saying by ICC.
Ballance’s return is fantastic news, but Zimbabwe will miss their talented all-rounder Raza who is now free to play franchise cricket.
Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarava are on hand to support the pace attack since Muzarabani is still recovering from a quad ailment.
The T20I series will be played in Harare with matches on January 12, 14 and 15. This is followed by an ODI series which will be played at the same venue on January 18, 21 and 23. The date for the second ODI was moved from January 20 to 21.
Squad: Craig Ervine (captain), Gary Ballance, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi and Sean Williams. (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
