Bangladesh to tour Zimbabwe despite COVID-19 restrictions

The Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Wednesday its national team will leave for Zimbabwe on 29 June for a full series despite heavy coronavirus restrictions in the African country. The tour will feature a Test, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals. Players will be in a bio-secure bubble. “We have been assured of highest COVID-19 protocol by the Zimbabwean cricket authorities,” said Ahmed Sazzadul Alam, a BCB director who will head the delegation. Zimbabwe on Tuesday released the itinerary of the series after it received clearance from the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). All the matches between 7 July and 27 July will be behind closed doors, Cricket Zimbabwe (ZC) said in a statement. ZC said it was grateful to SRC chairman Gerald Mlotshwa for “fighting tooth and nail” to ensure cricket was exempted from a government directive to suspend all sporting activities as part of new COVID-19 restrictions. “All the matches between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will be played behind closed doors at Harare Sports Club, with no spectators allowed in the ground as part of the pandemic protocols that ZC has put in place at its facilities,” ZC said. The tour will begin with the Test match scheduled for 7-11 July. It will be followed by an ODI series that is part of the ICC Super League - the main qualification path for World Cup 2023 in India. After the Super League clash, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will then face off in three T20I matches set for 23, 25 and 27 July. This will be the first tour for the South Asian side in Zimbabwe in more than eight years. Fixtures: 7-11 July: Test at Harare Sports Club 16 July: First ODI at Harare Sports Club 18 July: Second ODI at Harare Sports Club 20 July: Third ODI at Harare Sports Club 23 July: First T20I at Harare Sports Club 25 July: Second T20I at Harare Sports Club 27 July: Third T20I Harare Sports Club