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Zimbabwe to play Test cricket against New Zealand, Sri Lanka in 2016

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairman added that his board is in discussion with Bangladesh to either have a home or an away Test series in the near future.

Zimbabwe may also have a series against Bangladesh © AFP
Zimbabwe may also have a series against Bangladesh © AFP

Zimbabwe will be back in Test circuit after one year as they have matches lined up against top sides New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the coming months. Zimbabwe are expected to host New Zealand and Sri Lanka for Test series in July and August, after they are through with their limited-overs series against India in June. India will be touring Zimbabwe for three ODIs and three T20Is in June, following which the African team will focus their energies to prepare themselves well for the challenges lie ahead in the longest format of cricket. Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) have confirmed this development.

According to Standardsport, Zimbabwe Cricket’s (ZC) chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani  has confirmed that Zimbabwe will be making a return to Test cricket after one year. He said, “We will definitely play more Test cricket this year. We simply can’t afford not to.”

“We have New Zealand coming sometime in July for a tour which will include two Tests, while the visit by Sri Lanka will also include Test cricket as well. We are just finalising the schedule and it will be released soon,” he added.

The Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairman added that his board is in discussion with Bangladesh to either have a home or an away Test series in the near future. It must be remembered that both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh had cancelled their Test series slated for January 2016, to enhance their preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

“We are still in discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board because if you remember, we were supposed to play two Tests against them last year, but we had to set them aside in favour of T20s to give the teams ample time to prepare for the World Twenty20 competition in India. So they owe us two Test matches and what is left is just to decide if we will play them here or away in Bangladesh,” Mukuhlani informed.

The report added that Zimbabwe have remained concentrated on ODI cricket, in order to ensure that they remain among the top eight ranked countries and make it to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and avoid playing a qualifying round.

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