Craig Ervine ruled out of ODI series against Sri Lanka with calf strain

Craig Ervine, the designated Zimbabwe captain, has been ruled out of the ODI series against Sri Lanka after sustaining a calf injury on the eve of the first match, played at Harare Sports Club on Friday. In his absence, Sean Williams will lead Zimbabwe.

The injury took place on Thursday, and an MRI scan confirmed that Ervine had suffered a Grade II strain in his left calf as well as a chronic and resolving Grade I strain in his right calf.

Ervine, 40, is one of Zimbabwe's more experienced players and a key member of the batting unit. He has missed some cricket in recent years, often because of injury, but the most recent absence, in a Test against Ireland in February 2025, was to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Williams, too, had missed that Test with a back injury, but both of them returned to the squad for the Test series in Bangladesh at home in April-May. His last ODI appearance was in that series against Ireland.

Ervine's absence, while a blow for Zimbabwe, comes at a time when Brendan Taylor, one of the country's best batters of the last decade, makes his comeback to the format as part of his return to international cricket after a three-year ban for corruption-related offences. It's been Taylor's best format over the years, one where he has scored 11 centuries in 203 innings over the years.

Ervine has played 128 ODIs in his 15-year-long international career, scoring 3600 runs at an average of 33.02 with four centuries and 23 half-centuries, including a best of 130 not out, against New Zealand in Harare back in 2015.