New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has announced that the Sri Lanka men’s team will tour the country for an eagerly anticipated white-ball series to be held entirely at the Harare Sports Club.

As per the schedule, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will play two ODIs on August 29 and 31, followed by three T20Is on September 3, 6 and 7, respectively. The T20I leg of the series will serve as vital preparation for Zimbabwe ahead of them hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final tournament from September 19 to October 4.

This regional tournament will determine the last two African qualifiers for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. “We are delighted to confirm Sri Lanka’s visit to Zimbabwe for what we expect to be a thrilling and competitive series.”

“Matches between our two nations have always produced entertaining cricket, and this tour comes at a crucial time for our team as we prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup qualifying campaign,” said ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni in a statement.

The last time Zimbabwe played in the Africa leg of the qualifiers for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, they were unable to qualify for the main event, as Uganda and Namibia took the two spots up for grabs in the competition.

Zimbabwe had last played in the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, in which they crashed out in the preliminary stage. However, a poor run in qualifying tournaments meant they didn’t feature in the tournament’s next edition, held in the West Indies and USA, as well as missed the cut for the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.

By not qualifying for the 2023 ODI World Cup, which was hosted by India, Zimbabwe also lost out on an opportunity to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

–IANS

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