HARARE: Lance Klusener will resign from his position as the senior men's team's batting coach with immediate effect, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) announced on Friday, after reaching a mutual agreement with the country's cricket governing body. Just ten days before Zimbabwe's Men's T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland in Group B of the tournament's first round at Hobart, Klusener announces his resignation as batting coach.
According to Klusener's agent, the decision followed his desire to seek professional engagements around the world, which will have an influence on his full-time availability for the national team's programmes, ZC said in an official statement.
In March of this year, Klusener returned to the Zimbabwe senior men's team in the capacity of batting coach after previously holding the role from 2016 to 2018. He was appointed the head coach of Morrisville SAMP Army, a rookie team in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, last month.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, which begins in Australia in a few days, will be held there. "We are grateful to Lance for everything he has given throughout his time with us, including assisting us to qualify for that tournament," the team said. "Unfortunately, he was unable to remain with us full-time due to his urgent obligations elsewhere, and we decided it would be best for both sides if his contract was terminated. Our warmest wishes are with him as he pursues his new endeavours, "said ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni.
In the opening round of the T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe will play Group B matches against the two-time champion West Indies on October 19 and Scotland on October 21 after taking on Ireland on October 17.
Zimbabwe will play warm-up games against the champions of the 2022 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka, and Namibia on October 10 and October 13, respectively, in Melbourne.
The Craig Ervine-led team qualified for the T20 World Cup by going undefeated at home in the qualifiers in July, securing their first appearance in a significant international event since 2016.
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