Blessing Muzarabani ruled out as Zimbabwe unveil Sikandar Raza-led squad for PAK tri-series

Blessing Muzarabani ruled out as ZIM announce PAK T20I tri-series squad [Source: @ICC/X.com]

In a latest development, the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The series, which will be hosted by Pakistan from November 17, will see the squads face each other as a vital preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.

Interestingly, a major exclusion from the Zimbabwe squad might affect the composition that headed for the Afghanistan home series a few days back.

Maiden call-up for 19-year-old as Muzarabani misses series

Blessing Muzarabani has been ruled out due to a back injury, and Newman Nyamhuri has earned a maiden call-up as his replacement. 19-year-old Newman has played four Tests and four ODI matches earlier with promising performance in List A cricket, where he recently took a 4-fer for just 15 runs against Tuskers.

Though Newman is relatively inexperienced, his 3/53 in ODI while maintaining an economy rate of 6.00 from 3 innings sums up his credibility to be a replacement for veteran pacer Muzarabani.

Experienced side to face rivals

Nevertheless, Sikandar Raza will be leading the side with veteran names, including Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza, and a significant inclusion of Brendan Taylor, who returns to the national team even after a poor run (7 runs from 3 matches) against Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe will be looking to amp up their T20 World Cup preparation with this series, as they etched their place as one of the 20 teams at the ICC tournament after completing a flawless patch in the Africa Qualifier. The T20I tri-series, which will see its final on November 29, will be played in Lahore as Zimbabwe faces Pakistan and Sri Lanka twice to play a total of four group-stage matches.

Zimbabwe squad for T20I tri-series

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