Zimbabwe cricket coach not to visit Pakistan on India’s advice
October 20, 2020 03:21 PM
Head coach of the Zimbabwe cricket team India’s Lalchand Rajput has not travelled with his team for the upcoming tour of Pakistan for security reasons.
According to reported, Indian government has advised Rajput not to travel to Pakistan as it is not safe to stay.
A former India batsman, Rajput was issued a Pakistan visa and even had the required clearance from Pakistan's foreign office to travel, but Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) informed the PCB that he will not be joining the rest of the team.
Rajput, 58, represented India in six international games - four ODIs and two Tests - between 1985 and 1987. He was appointed as Zimbabwe's full-time coach in August 2018, after the team's failure to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Zimbabwe are scheduled to play three ODIs against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, before moving to Lahore to play three T20Is. Earlier this month, ZC had sent a five-person delegation to Pakistan to assess the arrangements for the teams' bio-secure bubble. The delegation, comprising two health officers, one security in-charge, and two ZC executives began their inter-city travel after returning two negative Covid-19 tests within 48 hours of arrival in Islamabad. The Zimbabwe players, too, were required to undergo two tests: one in Harare prior to their departure yesterday, and another upon their arrival today.
This will be Zimbabwe's first tour of Pakistan since 2015, when they became the first Full Member to visit the country after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009.