Banned Cricketer Brendan Taylor Rejoins Zimbabwe Squad for Test Against New Zealand

In a surprising turn of events, Brendan Taylor, the 39-year-old Zimbabwean cricketer, has made a comeback to international cricket after serving a 3.5-year ban. Taylor was previously banned by the International Cricket Council in January 2022 for admitting to four charges under the anti-corruption code, stemming from an incident in 2019 when he claimed to have accepted $15,000 from businessmen in India who asked him to fix international games.

Despite his admission, Taylor maintained that he never actually fixed any matches. However, he was also found guilty of a doping violation after testing positive for a cocaine metabolite. Now, as Zimbabwe takes on New Zealand in the second and final test match, Taylor has been included in the starting lineup, replacing opening batter Ben Curran.

Zimbabwe, which has struggled in the longest format of the game, won the toss and elected to bat first. The home team is looking to bounce back after suffering a nine-wicket defeat in the first test last week. New Zealand, on the other hand, has had to make several changes to its lineup due to injuries and player unavailability, including the absence of star players like Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson.