Zimbabwe Cricket assures clearing players’ dues ahead of Australia, Pakistan tri-series

Zimbabwe Cricket has assured clearing all the outstanding player salaries by July 25 but Sikandar Raza, their top player, has decided to skip the tri-series involving Pakistan and Australia to play in the Global T20 Canada league.

Forced by the threat of the players’ boycotting the upcoming T20 tri-series against Pakistan and Australia, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) on Friday assured its players of clearing all their outstanding salaries by July 25, a month after the players’ deadline.

Sikandar Raza will play in the Global T20 League in Canada despite Zimbabwe Cricket assuring players that their outstanding dues will be cleared. (AP)

The players had earlier threatened to “review their availability for selection” if their initial deadline wasn’t met, which threatens to derail next month’s tri-series, slated to be held between June 28 to July 8 in Bulawayo and Harare. However, the review has come a bit too late for Zimbabwe cricket’s top player Sikandar Raza. According to a Cricbuzz report, Raza has opted to play in the Global T20 Canada League ahead of the tri-series

According to an ESPNCricinfo report, newly-appointed ZC consultant Vince van der Bijl has reiterated the board’s commitment to “pay all outstanding salaries up to your June salary by July 25 and July salary by end of July.”

The letter also stated the timeline is “conservative” and that ZC are “hopeful” of making payments sooner. The board also informed that it is also hopeful of paying the Sri Lanka tour fees by the end of June.

ZC is expected to receive their next payout from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July.