Gary Ballance earns maiden call-up as Zimbabwe announce squad for Ireland T20Is

Gary Ballance in action [Source: Twitter] 

In a significant development, former England batter Gary Ballance has earned his maiden call-up to Zimbabwe's squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland. 

Ballance, who played 23 Tests and 16 ODIs for England between 2014 and 2017, recently signed a two-year contract to play domestic and international cricket in and for the country of his birth after being released by Yorkshire. 

In another notable event, two of Zimbabwe's mainstays, Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani, have missed the cut. 

While Raza has been released to explore opportunities in global T20 leagues, Muzarabani is yet to recover from a quadriceps injury. Keeper-batter Regis Chakabva and Milton Shumba have also been left out.

Besides Ballance, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Innocent Kaia and Victor Nyauchi have been included as three other changes to the 15-member team that represented Zimbabwe at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia last year. 

Zimbabwe squad for T20I series against Ireland

Craig Ervine(captain), Gary Ballance, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive  Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams

Zimbabwe will play three T20Is against Ireland in Harare between January 12 and 15. After that, both teams will clash in a three-match ODI series at the same venue. 

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