5 players to watch out for from the tri-series in Zimbabwe

After an extremely disappointing outing against England where they got whitewashed 5-0, Australia will now travel to Zimbabwe in a bid to regain lost pride. They will take on hosts Zimbabwe and Pakistan in a T20I tri-series which begins on July 1.

On the other hand, the Pakistan cricket team have been in great form in all three formats of the game. They are coming off a victory against Scotland in the two-match T20I series which was recently concluded. Prior to that, they defeated England 1-0 in the two-match Test series which was held in England.

They have been quite inconsistent in their results over the past couple of years and will hope to turn things around in this tri-series.

Zimbabwe last played a match in March in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, where they suffered numerous losses, thus not qualifying for the tournament. Since then, head coach Heath Streak was sacked. They will face an uphill task given the fact that their star players including Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, and Graeme Cremer will not be taking part due to pay disputes.

Let's take a look at the 5 players to look out for

#5 Andrew Tye

The Australian quick bowler was in supreme form in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. He picked up 24 wickets in 14 matches for the Kings XI Punjab and won the Purple Cap despite his side not qualifying for the playoffs. He deceived batsmen with his variations in pace and was able to bamboozle them and pick up wickets at regular intervals.

However, he failed to carry on this form into the ODI series against England as he failed to make much of an impact. The English batsmen were up to the task as they smashed the Australian bowlers all around the park.

Coming back to the T20 format now, Tye will hope to get back into his groove and pick up a lot of wickets.

#4 Hamilton Masakadza

In the absence of their four top players, the 34-year-old veteran Hamilton Masakadza will take on the captaincy duty for the tri-series against Australia and Pakistan. He is the oldest player in the side and the most experienced as well.

He made his debut way back in 2001 and has constantly been a part of all three formats of the game for his country. He is a handy all-rounder and can contribute with the bat and the ball.

He has been in good form in Zimbabwe's domestic tournament and will hope to carry on his good run of form into the tri-series as well.

#3 Mohammad Amir

Ever since making his comeback into the international arena after serving a five-year suspension, Mohammad Amir has been one of Pakistan's best bowlers.

He has ripped through opposition batting line-ups on a number of occasions and can completely take the game away from any opposition on his day.

However, he hasn't been in the best of form in the shortest format of the game and will hope to turn things around in this tri-series. He has played 38 T20Is so far for Pakistan and has picked up 47 wickets.

#2 Shoaib Malik

Despite making his debut more than over 15 years ago, Shoaib Malik continues to be an indispensable part of Pakistan's squad in all formats of the game. He is a vital asset, especially in the middle order where he can take the game away from the opposition with his powerful hitting and can also stabilise the innings in case of any trouble.

He can be useful with the ball as well and can pick up wickets at regular intervals and put a halt to the opposition's run-scoring.

He is set to retire from ODIs after the 2019 World Cup and we might see him retire from T20Is as well soon.

#1 Glenn Maxwell

Hailed as one of the most dangerous and fearful batsmen in the world, Glenn Maxwell has been extremely inconsistent in his performances with the bat over the past year or so.

He failed to make any sort of impact in the recently concluded Indian Premier League and while he got going in the first ODI against England, he failed to make an impact in the remaining matches.

He is that type of batsman who can completely take the game away from the opposition on his day and he will be hoping to get back his form in the tri-series against Pakistan and Zimbabwe.