Raza to lead Zimbabwe in both white-ball formats on UAE tour

Abid Manzoor01 mins
Sikandar Raza will lead Zimbabwe in both white-ball formats on their upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates, where they will face Afghanistan and Bangladesh in an ODI tri-series before taking on Afghanistan in three T20Is. The month-long assignment, running from October 17 to November 17, will conclude with two Tests against Afghanistan.

Raza will captain the ODI team in the absence of Richard Ngarava, who continues to recover from a back injury. The ODI squad largely comprises the group that faced Australia in Harare last month, with Tafadzwa Tsiga and Vincent Masekesa replacing Innocent Kaia and Graeme Cremer.

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, Wessly Madhevere.

Kaia, who suffered a thigh strain, is still recovering but is expected to be available for the T20I series. Tsiga and Masekesa, meanwhile, are in contention to make their debuts in both white-ball formats.

The batting group features a mix of experience and youth, with Raza, Craig Ervine and Brendan Taylor joined by Ben Curran, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. Blessing Muzarabani will spearhead the pace attack alongside Brad Evans, Ernest Masuku and Newman Nyamhuri, while Wellington Masakadza and Masekesa are among the spin options. Kundai Matigimu will replace Evans for the third and final T20I against Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe open their ODI tri-series campaign against Bangladesh on October 17 before taking on Afghanistan on October 19. Afghanistan and Bangladesh will meet in the final round-robin fixture on October 21, with the top two teams advancing to the final on October 23.

The T20I series against Afghanistan will be played on October 27 and 29 and November 1. The tour will conclude with two Tests, scheduled for November 5-9 and November 13-17.

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