Afghanistan’s proposed tour of Zimbabwe called off

After making their World Cup debut back in 2015, Afghanistan are set to play the 2019 edition of the mega event in England and Wales. The team, captained by Asghar Afghan, recently played a three-match T20I and a five-match ODI series against Ireland at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Dehradun. Even as the Afghans won the 20-overs fixtures 3-0, they tied the One-Dayers 2-2.

Afghanistan were also scheduled to tour Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series in April as a part of their preparation for the World Cup, which is set to start on Thursday, May 30. However, it has now been learned the tour has been called off. The same is due to the cost of broadcasting. Zimbabwe Cricket wanted the games to be live-streamed while the ACB wanted the matches to be televised as well.

They have fired the CEO who we had agreed the tour with, Zimbabwe Cricket acting MD

“The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had requested Zimbabwe Cricket to host the series in Harare to help their team prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England, and while both boards had agreed to share the tour expenses, the prohibitive costs of broadcasting the matches live on television – which the ACB was insisting on – unfortunately derailed the proposed series,” a release mentioned.

“They wanted the games to be televised but we opted for live streaming due to the costs involved. They have fired the CEO who we had agreed the tour with,” Givemore Makoni, Zimbabwe Cricket’s acting managing director, was quoted as saying in Sunday News.

The cancellation of the series means that Afghanistan are left with only a couple of ODIs each against Scotland and Ireland. Before the main round of the World Cup, they will also play two warm-up matches against England and Pakistan. Their opening encounter of the tournament is against Australia on Saturday, June 1 at the County Ground in Bristol.

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