Zimbabwe cricket coach Lalchand Rajput has not travelled with the team for a tour of Pakistan after the Indian embassy in Harare requested his exemption from the limited-overs series.
A statement from Zimbabwe Cricket said that Rajput won’t be a part of the tour following the request from the Indian embassy. In Rajput’s absence, bowling coach Douglas Hondo would take charge of the team during the tour.
“@Lalchandrajput7 will miss the @TheRealPCB tour after the Embassy of India in Harare wrote to @ZimCricketv asking that he be exempted from visiting Pakistan. The Embassy of Pakistan in Harare had issued a visa to Rajput,” the ZC tweeted.
“With @Lalchandrajput7 unavailable, @ZimCricketv has appointed bowling coach Douglas Hondo to take charge of the team for the three ODIs and as many T20Is games against @TheRealPCB.”
The Zimbabwean team is scheduled to play three ODIs against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, starting October 30, before moving to Lahore for three T20Is. The visiting team arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday.
ESPNCricinfo reported that the exemption for Rajput was sought citing “travel guidelines of the (Indian) Government for its citizens”.