Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan made it clear on Friday that the Zimbabwe cricket team will be touring Pakistan and the series will go on as per schedule. "The president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has confirmed that the Zimbabwe cricket team will be coming to Pakistan as per schedule," he told reporters on Friday.
Board Chief said, "Zimbabwe Cricket Union President Wilson Manase called me three times to reaffirm that Zimbabwe would be touring Pakistan as per schedule." He confirmed the Zimbabwe team is coming to Pakistan as per schedule," he added. Doubts started hovering on the scheduled tour of the Zimbabweans after a deadly terror attack on a bus which killed about 48-member of a minority community in Karachi. On Thursday Zimbabwe Cricket initially released a statement saying that a decision had been reached not to tour on the advice of the country's supreme sports regulatory authority, the Sports and Recreation Commission.
The committee had cited concerns over the safety of the touring party. The chairman said the Zimbabwe Cricket Union had confirmed that the planned tour would go ahead as per scheduled and that ZCU would send this in writing. "The Zimbabwe team would arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday to play two Twenty20 internationals on May 22 and 24 and three one-day internationals on May 26, 29 and 31. All matches are to be played in Lahore." He also said the board had already got clearance from the government.
Board Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed said the tour would go ahead as scheduled at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The board committees were told to continue the preparations for the tour. The board chief then was happy over the decision of Zimbabwe Cricket Union to come to Pakistan as per its schedule. He said the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the government had given a green signal but a formal written confirmation from the Zimbabwe authorities was still pending. The Zimbabweans will be the first ICC full member team to visit Pakistan since March the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team. Since then only non-Test-playing Kenya and Associate Afghanistan have toured Pakistan.
Pakistan and Zimbabwe last faced off in Zimbabwe two years ago with Coach Dav Whatmore at the helm. Sources claim that Dav Whatmore has played a key role in convincing Zimbabwe Cricket in allaying its security concerns and agree to a tour to Pakistan. Hectic arrangements are afoot for the upcoming tour of the Zimbabwe cricket team to Pakistan with the main focus being on security.
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