Indian cricket coach Lalchand Rajput withdrawn from Zimbabwe’s Pakistan tour

Zimbabwe cricket coach and former India player Lalchand Rajput was stopped from traveling for a limited-overs series in Pakistan on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

The Zimbabwe squad and officials arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe’s cricket board said it had withdrawn Rajput from the touring party after a request from the Indian Embassy in Harare.

The embassy asked that Rajput “be exempted from visiting Pakistan for the limited-overs tour in accordance with the travel guidelines stipulated by the government of India for its citizens,” Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said.

According to The Associated Press, Rajput had been granted a visa by the Pakistan Embassy, Zimbabwe Cricket said, before the Indian government stepped in.

ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said his body could not disregard the request from the Indian government, according to The Associated Press.

Bowling coach Douglas Hondo will take over as Zimbabwe’s head coach for the tour.

Zimbabwe will play Pakistan in three one-day internationals in Rawalpindi and three Twenty20 games in Lahore, with the first ODI on Oct. 30.

No fans will be allowed to attend any of the games because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They were tested for the coronavirus on their arrival and will have to observe a seven-day isolation period during which they will hold closed training sessions at the Army Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

This is Zimbabwe’s first tour of Pakistan in five years.