Ahead of the tour, Zimbabwe named a 27-man training squad.[6] Zimbabwe's regular captain, Hamilton Masakadza, was ruled out of the tour due to injury, with Peter Moor named as the ODI captain in his place.[7] Also missing for Zimbabwe was experienced batsman Brendan Taylor, who was ruled out due to a calf muscle tear.[8]Zimbabwe Cricket announced that the profits from the third ODI match of the tour would go to the Cyclone Idai relief efforts.[9] Zimbabwe's former captain, Graeme Cremer, worked as a coaching consultant for the UAE team for the tour, after Cremer moved from Zimbabwe to Dubai earlier in the year.[10]