ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday Zimbabwe had accepted its invitation to participate in a Twenty20 tri-nation series after Afghanistan’s decision to pull out of the tournament.
The withdrawal decision came after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said a day earlier Pakistani airstrikes had killed of its players in Paktika province close to the border with Pakistan. The strikes followed Islamabad’s repeated accusations against the Afghan authorities, blaming them for sheltering militant groups and facilitating their attacks against its civilians and security forces.
Pakistani officials said the attacks targeted a militant outfit responsible for a suicide bombing on a military compound in the northwest of the country.
“Zimbabwe Cricket has accepted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s invitation to participate in a T20I tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka, to be staged in Rawalpindi and Lahore from 17 to 29 November,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The maiden tri-series on Pakistan soil has been scheduled to provide all three sides with preparation ahead of next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka,” it added.
