Zimbabwe's five-match T20I series against Afghanistan, scheduled to be held in Harare later this month, has been called off in the wake of the latest spike in Covid-19 infections in the African nation, which has led to its government putting in place additional measures to check the spread of the virus.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) had applied for a waiver to proceed with the series in a strictly controlled environment, but an increase in the caseload in the country has put paid to all that, with the government advising that the country was not ready to host any visiting sports teams yet.
"We were keen to see the imminent and safe return of cricket, but we understand the government's health concerns and accept that cancelling the proposed tour is sensible and in the best interest of players, match officials, volunteers, service providers, fans and the wider community," ZC acting managing director Givemore Makoni said in a statement.
@ZimCricketv has called off the five-match T20I series against @ACBofficials scheduled to be played in Harare this August after the Government advised the country was not ready as yet to host visiting teams amid a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases #ZIMvAFG | #BowlOutCovid19 pic.twitter.com/wXga8QXh1m
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) August 8, 2020
India, too, were scheduled to visit Zimbabwe in August for three ODIs, but that series has been cancelled as well. As for away assignments, Zimbabwe's three-match ODI tour of Australia, scheduled for early August, has also been postponed.