Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton believes former England batter Gary Ballance could be tempted into switching his allegiance to his birth country.
Harare-born Ballance represented Zimbabwe at under-19 level but moved to England to complete his schooling and went on to don the Three Lions in 23 Tests and 16 one-day internationals between 2014 and 2017.
Last year he was suspended from selection indefinitely by the England and Wales Cricket Board after being accused by former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq of racial abuse. The 32-year-old met Rafiq in London last week to apologise in person for his “unacceptable” language.
Speaking ahead of his team’s second one-day international against Australia, Houghton said: “I’ve known Gary since he was a kid and I speak to him reasonably regularly.
Ballance has two years left on his current Yorkshire deal but has only played three times for the second XI this term, having earlier missed out with ongoing mental health concerns. He would be unlikely to be kept on as an overseas player.
