(Reuters) – Zimbabwe may not be the strongest of opponents but the importance of an away series against them is not lost on India’s fringe players who are keen to make the most of the opportunity in absence of their seniors.

Zimbabwe’s captain Elton Chigumbura (L) and Hamilton Masakadza run between the wickets during the first One Day International cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza

India rested regular players including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and put Ajinkya Rahane in charge of a second-string side for the three ODIs and two Twenty20 matches in Zimbabwe.

The Africans are nine places lower than India in the ODI rankings but for someone like Robin Uthappa, who is expected to keep wicket in Dhoni’s absence, the series is precisely what he had been waiting for.

“I am really grateful that I have finally got a whole series to play than just one or two games a year,” Uthappa, who played the last of his 43 ODIs late last year, told reporters on Monday.

“I want to make the most of it and want to consolidate my spot in the side.”

Uthappa made his way into the Indian team as a 21-year-old hard-hitting opener and impressed immediately hitting 86 in his ODI debut against England in 2006.

He got a decent run in Indian colours but failed to cement his place in the side.

At 29, he’s now a more confident cricketer and even sees himself as a possible successor to stumper Dhoni, having taken to full-time keeping recently.

“I know the game I used to play was a flash in the pan. That’s good to watch but consistency definitely takes a hit,” Uthappa said.

“I didn’t capitalise on the kind of opportunities I got as a young guy.

“I was 21 and I could have had a firmer head on my shoulders, I could have had someone to guide me, I could have had a million things.

“I went through my own personal issues that kind of sidetracked me for a few years to the point where I wanted to give up the game. And then I kind of resurrected myself and I fell in love with the game completely.”

For India’s regular test opener Murali Vijay too, the series presents an opportunity to stake his claim for ODI inclusion.

The 31-year-old right-hander last played an ODI for India two years back and the last of his seven T20 international in January, 2011.

“I always wanted to play all three formats of the game. It’s a great opportunity for me,” Vijay said. “I got my chances but I have not been getting a (full) series. It’s very difficult for a batsman.

“I have been part of the Indian team for seven years now and I have played 14 ODIs, that says it all. Now is the opportunity for me and I hope I can do justice to my talent.”

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who played the last of his 229 one-dayers in June 2011, will also be keen to do well in the series, having lost the number one spinner’s place to Ravichandran Ashwin, who has also been rested.

Harare Sports Club hosts the ODIs on Friday, Sunday and next Tuesday, to be followed by Twenty20 Internationals on July 17 and 19 at the same venue.

Pakistani fans have been starved of cricket and Friday’s first T20 is sold out

Zimbabwe’s cricket team is in Pakistan, the first Test-playing nation to visit the country in six years.

Thousands of security personnel were deployed as the team were taken from Lahore airport to a city hotel.

Pakistan has hosted no top-level international cricket since Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked by gunmen in Lahore in 2009. Six policemen died.

Zimbabwe and Pakistan will play two T20 matches and three one-day internationals starting on Friday.

Pakistan have recalled their former captain, all-rounder Shoaib Malik, and fast bowler Mohammad Sami for the T20 games. There is no place for spin bowler Saeed Ajmal.

The 15-man squad also sees batsman Umar Akmal return after failing to impress in the Cricket World Cup and being left out of the recent tour of Bangladesh.

Zimbabwean bowler Hamilton Masakadza grimaces after a near miss

The International Cricket Council has refused to send any match officials to Pakistan for the series with Zimbabwe because of security concerns.

A driver was killed along with the six policemen who died in the 2009 militant attack. Seven Sri Lankan players were wounded, causing shock around the world.

Pakistani policemen stand guard beside a bus carrying Zimbabwe cricket team players on their way to hotel after their arrival in Lahore on May 19, 2015.
The Zimbabwe team arrived in the early hours of Tuesday and were whisked to their hotel
The first T20, to be played on Friday, is sold out amid a wave of jubilation among cricket fans across Pakistan, reports the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad.

Pakistan Cricket Board officials received the Zimbabwe players at Lahore airport with garlands.

“This is a happy occasion. I am grateful to the Zimbabwean government which made this tour possible,” PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told Pakistan TV.

Pakistani Rangers gather for a rehearsal of security arrangements for the Zimbabwe team outside the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on May 16, 2015.
Thousands of security personnel are involved in protecting the Zimbabwe team
Television channels offered live coverage of the arrival of the Zimbabweans – most playing famous Bollywood songs about the “home coming of the beloved” in the background.

All channels ran footage of fans welcoming the Zimbabwe squad and expressing relief over what they saw as the “improved security situation” in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the local authorities have been rehearsing security and evacuation plans involving both airborne and ground forces in the event of an attack, BBC Urdu reports. The authorities have also ordered the closure of all businesses and eating places around the Qaddafi Stadium area in Lahore for two weeks.

Officials say only spectators with valid tickets will be allowed to approach the stadium.

Grey line
The BBC’s Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says officials are determined to make sure the Zimbabwe visit goes smoothly and hope it will pave the way for more international cricket on Pakistani soil.

Since 2009, Pakistan has played all home series at foreign grounds, mostly in Dubai.

The Zimbabwean visit is being seen as a major test as the country seeks to end its sporting isolation.

Thousands of people have been killed in recent years in Pakistan’s militant violence, which continues to rage despite a military offensive in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

A sectarian bus massacre in Karachi last week highlighted the security risks.

BBC