Brendan Taylor returns to Zimbabwe ODI squad for Australia series [Source: AFP]Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor has returned to the ODI squad after being out of the team for over a year as Zimbabwe hosts Australia in a three-match series at the Harare Sports Club.In captain Richard Ngarava’s injury absence, Sikandar Raza will lead the Africans in the series beginning on September 15, while several top performers from their series win over Sri Lanka earlier this year have retained their spot in the squad.Brendan Taylor returns as Zimbabwe announce squad for Australia ODIsAmong the major talking points from the Zimbabwe squad, the 40-year-old veteran batter Brendan Taylor could be back in action in the ODIs against Australia. He last represented them in the format back in August 2025, managing only 20 runs in two innings.Notably, Taylor has only played two ODIs since 2021. In the meantime, he served a three-and-a-half-year ban from all cricket for breaching anti-corruption and anti-doping codes. He returned to the Zimbabwe squad in July 2025 and has been a regular fixture since.Having played over 200 ODIs for 6700 runs, he will provide a massive boost to the squad against the Aussies.Apart from Taylor and Raza, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Ryan Burl and Wellington Masakadza are the other experienced campaigners bolstering the squad, while Blessing Muzarabani will lead the pace attack.Also Read: Marnus Labuschagne Out Of 2027 World Cup As Australia Lock In ODI Squad vs South Africa, ZimbabweZimbabwe squad for Australia ODIsSikandar Raza (c), Ben Curran, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Brendan Taylor, Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine, Ernest Masuku, Graeme Cremer, Innocent Kaia, Newman Nyamhuri, Ryan Burl, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly MadhevereWhy is Richard Ngarava not picked for the Australia ODI series?Richard Ngarava, who is now the regular ODI captain, is set to miss yet another series for the Men in Red, after he was out of their recent T20 tri-series against Namibia and South Africa.The left-arm quick suffered some lower back issues and is likely to miss more than just the Australia series, as per Cricinfo. He might also not play the upcoming tri-series against Afghanistan and Bangladesh in their UAE tour in October.Although the captaincy department is sorted with the experienced Raza taking over momentarily, Ngarava will be a massive loss in the bowling department. The 28-year-old, who has 76 ODI wickets in 54 innings, was their best bowler in the recent series win against Bangladesh, picking 6 wickets in two matches.Zimbabwe look to build on Bangladesh series winZimbabwe have been in some good form across formats in 2026. Right from the deep run into the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka to their recent series win over Bangladesh.Hosting the Asians in an all-format tour in June and July, Zimbabwe first beat them by an innings and 85 runs in the only Test. Later on, they backed it up with a 2-1 series win in ODIs, while also defending only 141 runs in the first ODI in Harare.Some notable performers from that series, like Ben Curran, Brad Evans and Ernest Masuku, have also retained their spot in the team, while the promising Brian Bennett will look to bounce back and return to form.Also Read: All Records Broken By Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma In Women's Asia Cup 2026 Final
