Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is still hoping to host Afghanistan in the near future in a five-match Twenty20 International series despite ongoing concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to New Zimbabwe news on Sunday, the country’s national cricket team members have been in training in anticipation of the proposed series.
ZC’s communications manager Darlington Majonga said that Zimbabwe Cricket and the Afghanistan Cricket Board had reached an agreement to go ahead with the tour on condition it was sanctioned by the Zimbabwean government.
The proposed tour comes amid a spike in coronavirus infections in Zimbabwe and tighter control measures by the government to contain the spread of the virus.
“We have agreed with Afghanistan to proceed with the tour that we had both committed to prior to the lockdown. However, the tour can only happen if approved by the government and we have since written to the authorities asking for permission to host the event,” said Majonga.
However, local media reports indicate that Zimbabwe’s cricket governing body faces a tough challenge to get approval for the series to go ahead.
Last week, the Zimbabwe government announced it would be tightening lockdown restrictions in response to the “worrying” statistics which had exceeded 1,600 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the ACB said in a statement last week that national team players had started training last month in preparation for future matches and tournaments.
The ACB also said that all national players had been tested for COVID-19 and were tested negative.
