Gary Ballance to play for Zimbabwe after getting released from Yorkshire contract

Left-handed English batter Gary Ballance has been released from Yorkshire's contract in order to begin a new career in Zimbabwe, where he was born. His racist comments about his club teammate Azeem Rafiq and further investigation into it have turned his career upside down.

Since the end of the 2021 county season, Ballance hasn't played any competitive cricket as he was down with mental health and had taken an indefinite break from cricket. His contract was due to expire in 2024, but Yorkshire decided to release him two years early at his request.

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Early Success

Gary Ballance was born in Zimbabwe and played a few club matches and the U-19 World Cup for them in 2006 before he was called by Derbyshire. After joining Yorkshire in 2008, his career has been filled with many highs, including two back-to-back centuries at Lord's. In 2013 he made his debut for England against Ireland in an ODI match and a few months later made his Test debut against Australia in the fifth Ashes Test, replacing his fellow clubmate Joe Root.

After Jonathan Trott retired, a vacancy on the no.3 spot became available, and he became a key member of the England side. He became the third fastest batter in England to complete 1000 runs in Test cricket. Following his performance in test cricket, he was included in England's ODI squad for the 2015 World Cup but all four of his outings were poor as he could garner only 36 runs.

Soon his test performance was also got affected and he was dropped from the test side in early 2016. He was recalled again in 2017 on the recommendation of Joe Root. However, he didn't make any impact and was again left out for the next series.

Ballance's Test stats have been impressive. In 23 matches, he mustered 1498 runs at an average of 37.45 with the help of 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries. The 33-year-old has 297 runs in 16 ODI appearances.

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Gary Ballance: Back to where he belongs

The past few years haven't gone well for Gary Ballance as his racist comments on Azeem Rafiq and its investigation has derailed him a lot. He was guilty of it and hasn't felt the same when playing for Yorkshire since the incident.

So, he decided to move back to his country of origin, Zimbabwe and will start playing for them soon, as he has signed a two-year contract with them to play international and domestic cricket.

Ballance can play straightaway for Zimbabwe as he last played for England in 2017 which has been more than 5 years. According to ICC regulations, there has to be a gap of three years between international appearances for transfer allegiance.

Surely, Gary Ballance would have been in contact with his relational uncle Dave Houghton, the former player and current head coach of Zimbabwe. His inclusion in the Zimbabwe side will boost the morality of the Zimbabwean team and will also help him overcome his guilt.