Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) announced on Saturday (Jul 21) that the team will not travel to Bangladesh for the scheduled T20 tri-series in light of the suspension handed out to them by the International Cricket Council (ICC), reports ESPN cricinfo.
Zimbabwe were supposed to travel to Bangladesh to play a T20 tri-series in September that included Afghanistan.
SUSPENSION: @ZimCricketv board is ready to cooperate with @ZimbabweSrc and other stakeholders to get Zimbabwe back to operating within the confines of @ICC statutes again as well as to ensure the game is thriving, competitive and financially stable #SaveOurCricket #TogetherWeCan pic.twitter.com/pbb04t2MOV
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) July 19, 2019
"To exacerbate the matter, ZC will not be able to stage first domestic competitions nor to fulfill its Future Tours Programme (FTP) and other international obligations, including the tour to Bangladesh for a T20 triangular series that also includes Afghanistan in September," Zimbabwe Cricket said in a statement.
"We would like to see our teams playing again as soon as possible and the ZC board is ready to cooperate with the SRC and other stakeholders to get Zimbabwe back to operating within the confines of the ICC statutes again."
Meanwhile the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) asked the ICC to think of the effect that Zimbabwe's suspension will have on the players.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday suspended ZC with immediate effect for failing to fulfill their obligation of ensuring that there is no government interference in its administration.
For their part, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has suggested that Zimbabwe's participation in the tri-series is up to ZC, and they themselves remain fluid in their response to the situation. If Zimbabwe do not travel, as seems likely, the tri-series will turn into a bilateral affair, reports ESPN cricinfo.
Zimbabwe's suspension from the ICC this week has also jeopardised both the men and women's teams' participation in the T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
