Sikandar Raza has been appointed captain of Zimbabwe for both the ODI and T20I formats ahead of their upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates. The tour will begin with an ODI tri-series featuring Afghanistan and Bangladesh, followed by three T20I matches against Afghanistan. Zimbabwe will then finish the month-long assignment with two Test matches against Afghanistan, with the tour scheduled to run from October 17 to November 17.
Raza will lead the ODI side in the absence of Richard Ngarava, who is continuing his recovery from a back injury. Zimbabwe have retained most of the players who featured in their recent ODI series against Australia in Harare. Tafadzwa Tsiga and Vincent Masekesa have been included in the ODI squad, replacing Innocent Kaia and Graeme Cremer.
Kaia, who is recovering from a thigh strain, is expected to return for the T20I series. Meanwhile, Tsiga and Masekesa could make their international debuts in either white-ball format during the tour.
Zimbabwe’s batting lineup features a combination of experienced campaigners and young players. Raza, Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor will bring experience, while Ben Curran, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani will add depth to the batting order.
Blessing Muzarabani will lead the pace attack alongside Brad Evans, Ernest Masuku and Newman Nyamhuri. Wellington Masakadza and Masekesa are among the spin options available for the team. Kundai Matigimu will replace Evans for the third and final T20I against Afghanistan.
Zimbabwe will begin their ODI tri-series campaign against Bangladesh on October 17 before facing Afghanistan on October 19. Afghanistan and Bangladesh will meet in the final round-robin fixture on October 21, with the top two teams qualifying for the final on October 23.
The three T20Is against Afghanistan are scheduled for October 27, October 29 and November 1. The tour will conclude with two Test matches, with the first scheduled for November 5-9 and the second from November 13-17.
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.