Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S preparedness for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be briefly tested today when they engage Netherlands in a warm-up game in Sri Lanka.
The match, to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, is one of the two preparatory matches organised by the International Cricket Council for Justin Sammons’ men before they plunge into the main tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in a few days.
Zimbabwe will also play Oman at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground on Thursday to wrap up their preparations ahead of the 2026 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The Chevrons, who travelled to Sri Lanka early to acclimatise to the conditions in the Asian country, moved to Colombo at the weekend after holding a training camp in the port city of Hambantota last week.
In fact, they had narrowed down their preparations for the tournament last month when most of the players trained in Harare under the watch of Sammons and his assistant Dion Ebrahim.
They were also joined by former West Indies fast-bowling great Courtney Walsh, as a bowling consultant, to bolster their preparations. Ex-Zimbabwe opening batsman Ebrahim has been working closely with the batters while Walsh sharpened the bowling unit led by Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani.
The side is now expected to put into practice the labour of the last four weeks.
Led by the current world number one all-rounder Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe are hoping for improved fortunes at this tournament.
They have in their ranks experienced players like Ryan Burl, Ngarava, Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, and the duo of Brendan Taylor and Graeme Cremer who recently made themselves available for selection after returning from international retirement.
They also have in their ranks promising talents like Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Bradley Evans and Tashinga Musekiwa.
Netherlands present a fair challenge to Zimbabwe in this format, considering nothing much separates the two countries on the ICC T20I rankings table.
The European side has familiar names like captain Scott Edwards, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Fred Klaassen, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekeren, who were part of the squad that upset the Chevrons at the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Zimbabwe are returning to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup stage after missing the previous edition held in the United States and West Indies because of failure to qualify.
The last time they played at the tournament in 2022, they performed relatively well to reach the Super 12 stage where they unfortunately lost to Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
The structure of the tournament is different this year. Twenty teams, placed in four groups, are taking part in the competition, with the top two from each pool progressing to the Super Eight. Zimbabwe are in Group B and will play former champions Australia, Ireland, Oman and hosts Sri Lanka.
“Obviously our main focus is to qualify for the Super Eights, and it’s going to come down to us winning the key moments in games and being aware and alert to that.
“But certainly, our goal is to get through the group stage into that Super Eight phase of the competition,” said Zimbabwe coach, Sammons.
But, with Australia and Sri Lanka touted as favourites to advance from this group, it means the Chevrons need maximum points against Oman and Ireland as a starting point and then hope for the best against one of the top teams. The tournament will start this Saturday with the opening match featuring Netherlands and Pakistan at SSC Cricket Ground.
The Chevrons will get their campaign underway against Oman at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo next Monday, ahead of a high-profile encounter against Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium four days later.
The team will then travel to Kandy to face Ireland at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on February 17, before returning to Colombo to conclude their group fixtures against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium on February 19.
Zimbabwe Squad: ICC Men’s T20
World Cup 2026:
Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Brendan Taylor.
