Harare, 9 December (IANS). Ben Curran, brother of England men’s players Sam and Tom, has been included in Zimbabwe’s squad for the first time for the ODI series against Afghanistan. Apart from him, Zimbabwe has also included young left-arm fast bowler Newman Nyamahuri in the squad for the first time, who has also been included in the T20 squad.
Curran, who played for Northamptonshire between 2018 and 2022, has been included in the squad for the first time after being Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer in the 50-over and red-ball domestic competitions.
He is the second son of Kevin Curran, who played 11 ODI matches for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987, before serving as their head coach from 2005 to 2007. His brothers Tom and Sam have played for England in all three formats.
While Tom was a member of the team that won the home ODI World Cup in 2019 and last played for England in 2021, Sam was the player of the final and player of the tournament as England won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
On the other hand, 18-year-old Nyamahuri has been one of the country’s brightest young talents, having impressed at the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, where he became Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker with eight wickets. Wale emerged as a bowler.
Both Curran and Nyamahuri, along with fast bowler Victor Nyauchi, have been included in the ODI squad in place of Faraz Akram, Brandon Mavuta and Clive Madande, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder. There have been no changes to the rest of Zimbabwe’s squad for their recent ODI series against Pakistan.
The only changes to the T20I squad include Nyamahuri along with opening batsman Takudzwanashe Kaitano, who is in line to make his debut in the shortest format, while Madande and Mavuta have been ruled out due to injury and selection adjustments.
The series between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will be played at the Harare Sports Club, starting with three T20Is on 11, 13 and 14 December, followed by three ODIs on 17, 19 and 21 December respectively.
–IANS
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