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Zimbabwe land in Pakistan but head coach pulls out

October 21, 2020 00:00:00


The Zimbabwe squad after landing at the Islamabad airport for their tour of Pakistan in Islamabad on Tuesday — PCB

KARACHI, Oct 20 (AFP): Zimbabwe's cricket squad arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday -- minus their Indian coach, who had been advised to stay away from the rival South Asian nation.

The 20-man Zimbabwe team is competing in a series of one-day internationals and Twenty20s, the first of which is slated for October 30 in Rawalpindi after the players complete a mandatory virus quarantine period.

Pakistan had granted Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput a visa, but he did not travel as per his government's advice.

"Zimbabwe head coach Rajput will miss the Pakistan tour after Indian embassy in Harare wrote to us asking that Rajput, who is an Indian national, be exempted from visiting Pakistan," a Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) statement read.

India and Pakistan have been bitter rivals since independence from Britain in 1947, with relations taking a fresh turn for the worse last year following New Delhi's decision to strip Indian-administered Kashmir of its partial autonomy.


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