Possible ODI Series Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe 2016

Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies ODI Series:

Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe in October 2016 might consist of and ODI series with West Indies as third country proposed at the moment. Original fixture was for 2 Test matches, 3 one day international and single T20 international match. Changing existing fixture to a triangular ODI series would have more revenue generation prospect for all the boards involved. 

Zimbabwe is currently playing home Test series against New Zealand. Zimbabwe lost warm up match and first Test to New Zealand with a big margin. Sri Lanka on the other hand is playing home Test series against Australia. Sri Lanka won first match of test series which is a record 2nd win against visiting country. West Indies could be third team taking part in above tournament. WI lost home Test series first match against India and they are struggling in the 2nd Test match as well. 

Zimbabwe Cricket Team

Playing more limited over matches means Zimbabwe will be with out long format experience for bit longer time. Zimbabwe cricket team have been hardly playing Test matches. Before New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe, they played last test match against Bangladesh in 2014. If Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe is changed to triangular series then Zimbabwe won't play any Test match for next 11 months according to current FTP. It will be a biggest lost for Zimbabwe in longer format of cricket game. 

Zimbabwe Test Cricket Future:

Zimbabwe Test cricket is going through a poor phase at the moment. Lack of Test cricket means players don't get enough practice against other international teams. Zimbabwe cricket board should not be chasing money all the time as this is just a short term solution. ZC should pay more attention to Zimbabwe cricket future and balance up future fixtures. A mix of Test, ODI and T20 cricket would keep them up to date with other cricket playing nations. Otherwise, they are more likely to loose Test spot to emerging associate nation like Afghanistan, Ireland and Netherland.

Like every other country Zimbabwe Cricket Board (ZC) only generate revenue if they play against India and England (Big 3). Fixtures against other cricket country doesn't generate enough revenue and ZC is struggling a lot for past few years to get sponsorship deals. Zimbabwe is currently ranking No. 10 in ICC Test ranking, below Bangladesh. While Sri Lanka is ranked No. 7 and West Indies is ranked No. 8 in ICC Test ranking 2016.

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