Former England batsman Gary Ballance has agreed a two-year deal to play worldwide cricket for Zimbabwe, the nation’s board mentioned on Friday, a day after he was launched from his contract with English county facet Yorkshire.
The Zimbabwe-born participant has spent a 12 months coping with psychological well being points after admitting to utilizing racist language in opposition to former membership teammate Azim Rafiq. Ballance, who will even play home cricket in Zimbabwe, performed 23 Tests for England between 2014 and 2017, scoring 1,498 runs at a median of 37.45 together with 4 centuries. He additionally appeared in 16 One Day Internationals. The left-handed batsman performed for Zimbabwe within the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup earlier than shifting to England.
“I am thrilled to be joining Zimbabwe Cricket and can’t wait to start working alongside some great coaches and talented players,” Balance mentioned in a press release.
“The alternative to symbolize Zimbabwe has given me a brand new ardour and enthusiasm for the sport.
I’ve been involved with many individuals in Zimbabwe cricket through the years and it has been nice to see their current progress particularly.
Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe Cricket’s director of cricket, mentioned they have been delighted to have an “extremely talented and experienced cricketer” at house.
“He is a great addition to our domestic and international set-up and we are looking forward to him making a big difference,” Masakadza mentioned.
Yorkshire, who launched Balance two years out of his contract in accordance with the participant’s needs, have made sweeping adjustments following Rafiq’s explosive allegations of institutional racism on the membership. Balance has personally apologized to Rafiq.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
