Zimbabwe to play 5 matches in Bangladesh in November

Dhaka, Oct 22: Zimbabwe will play three One-day Internationals and two T20s in Bangladesh next month after Australia postponed a planned tour due to security concerns.

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan announced the tour dates late last night (October 21), saying Zimbabwe would arrive on November 2 and play all five matches at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Hasan had earlier said Zimbabwe had agreed to bring forward their tour from January after Australia called off its series after official warnings that militants may attack western interests.

The cancellation came amid heightened safety fears for foreigners in Bangladesh after an Italian and a Japanese national were killed in separate attacks in recent weeks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will play the ODIs on November 7, 9 and 11 and the T20s on November 13 and 15. Under pressure to bring international cricket back to Bangladesh, BCB officials tried to soothe concerns at a recent International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai.

Hassan also said the South African women's cricket team will visit Bangladesh from November 3. The Zimbabwe Under-19 team will arrive on November 7 for four One-day Internationals against their local counterparts, ahead of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh from January 22 next year.

AFP