THE Zimbabwe cricket team will be going for broke when they take on Pakistan in three one-day internationals (ODIs) and three T20 series in Rawalpindi and Lahore beginning next week, in its quest to gain automatic qualification to the next ICC World Cup set for India in 2023. BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE It is Zimbabwe’s first visit to Pakistan since 2015 and for the two nations, it is ICC Cricket World Cup Super League tournament campaign. An ODI competition involving 13 countries, the Super League tournament will see top seven ranked countries book a ticket to the World Cup and avoid the qualifiers. Zimbabwe missed out on the last World Cup after a painful defeat to United Arab Emirates in a qualifier tournament at Harare Sports Club. “For us as Zimbabwe cricket we are here to try and start winning games. It’s important to get the points that we need to qualify automatically for the next World Cup,” former skipper Elton Chigumbura (pictured) said during a virtual Press conference from Pakistan. “It is very important to start picking points now. The good thing is as players we are aware and we have experienced the impact of not qualifying for the World Cup. “Everyone is now aware of how we should start the series. Every game we play is important for the team so that we qualify. We are taking each game as it comes and hopefully we are going to have a great start. “We came here to win. Everyone has the will to go out there and express themselves. The wickets here are always flat, they favour bowlers but we are positive. “Every game we are going to play is important and every player is aware you are going to see us try to win every game. Everyone is looking forward to it after some seven months without playing.” The ODI series is set to begin on October 30, with the other two matches scheduled for November 1 and 3, respectively, while the T20 series begins four days later. While this is the Zimbabwe team’s first international fixture since they toured Bangladesh in February and March this year, Chigumbura last featured in ODIs against the same opponents in October 2018. He will be looking to replicate the kind of form that he exhibited with the bat when Zimbabwe last toured Pakistan in 2015 when he struck a century and half ton in the three appearances. “It’s good to be back in Pakistan. Five years ago, everyone was afraid, but the way we were taken care of everyone is now confident. And after we had our first training we are looking forward to the matches,” he said. “I haven’t been in the team for a while. I was not struggling but I had injuries that kept me out.”