As the Indian Premiere league (IPL) has been indefinitely postponed, we only have the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe series going around right now. That is the only cricket going around right now. While Pakistan did manage to win the T20I series, we have the Test series going on between the two sides. Pakistan are the first side to play in Zimbabwe post the COVID-19 pandemic. However, didn’t Pakistan just play against Zimbabwe recently? Why do they keep playing against Zimbabwe? What makes them arrange a series against Zimbabwe time and again? Time and again we keep seeing a series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, but why? Today we shall be taking a look at Why does Pakistan always play with Zimbabwe?
Well first things first, cricketers from Pakistan don’t play IPL. Thus, they have all their cricketers available during that time. Another important point to remember is that no other team have their players available during the Indian T20 league. This forces Pakistan to play against teams having players without an IPL contract. Thus we see Pakistan playing Zimbabwe many times. On top of that, Pakistan generally don’t get to play to many matches in the ICC’s cricket schedule. This might be because of the fact that not many teams won’t to play in Pakistan. Zimbabwe were one of the few teams which agreed to play in Pakistan. They toured Pakistan back in 2015. “The Pakistan Cricket Board has been at the forefront of the revival of international cricket in the post-Covid-19 world and the tour of Zimbabwe is another step in that direction. We have always maintained that cricket and Covid-19 can co-exist in a safe and secure environment, and we continue to demonstrate this to ensure the game develops and flourishes in these difficult and challenging times,” PCB’s director of international cricket, said this before the series between the two sides. “The tour of our men’s side at the back of our women’s team first-ever visit of Zimbabwe is a testimony that the two boards – the PCB and Zimbabwe Cricket – enjoy excellent relations and are always ready to lend support to each other.” He continues. He also felt that both the teams can continue to play against each other in the near future. We might see more matches between the two sides in the due course of time.
“Our cricket sides have always enjoyed visiting and playing cricket in Zimbabwe, and though our fans and followers will be unable to watch live-action, I am sure they will continue to support both the sides and their favourite cricketers like they have done since May 2020 through digital media,” he added. Earlier this year, Pakistan’s women and Zimbabwe’s women mutually agreed to call off the remainder of their tour after the Emirates airlines suspended its flight operations on the Harare-Dubai route from February 13 to 28. The teams played only one of their three scheduled ODI matches and were also expected to play three T20Is. Besides, Pakistan playing against Zimbabwe is actually a good thing. Zimbabwe can only become a good team if they play against top team more often. Pakistan playing a series against Zimababwe on a regular basis is beneficial for Zimbabwe as it improves their own game. This is the second time that Zimbabwe and Pakistan will meet each other since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Zimbabwe travelled to Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is between October and November last year. Both the teams have not played single Test against each other since Pakistan last visited Zimbabwe in September 2013. Pakistan won the first Test against Zimbabwe and are currently leading by 458 runs in the second Test.