Zimbabwe-Pakistan series put on hold

The official said if the series could no be held in August then the Zimbabwe Cricket would be asked to organise it at some other time.

“The decision is taken unanimously and in a cordial manner”. The PCB had promised a reciprocal visit in August to Zimbabwe Cricket Union after their team toured this country for three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in May this year.

According to reports, the WCB is in talks with Indian Cricket Board for a bilateral series before September 30, to produce a chance of playing the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Former captain Ramiz Raja has lauded the performance of Mohammad Hafeez against Sri Lanka, saying that the one-down batsman played like a champion throughout the ongoing ODI series.

Currently, Pakistan stand at eighth position with 90 points, while the West Indies are at ninth on the global Cricket Council’s ODI team rankings.

There were doubts that Pakistan will get the required results, as the new skipper Azhar Ali, installed after the World Cup crash, was inexperienced in ODI format, seemed to lack confidence and had not even been considered by the selectors earlier as an accomplished ODI player.

A Pakistan Cricket Board official confirmed to PTI that the tour was officially off.

However, Azhar and his team-mates gathered themselves, took the challenge head-on and with teamwork and self-belief also achieved this target, defeating Sri Lanka 3-1 in the series (with the fifth and final match to be played tomorrow). “No until now no agreement has been made for either the tri-series or bilateral ODI series”.