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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
A HIGH-POWERED delegation is still engaging talisman Khama Billiat to reconsider walking back to the senior national football team ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
Billiat, who announced his retirement from international duty, was omitted from a lightweight-looking 30-man provisional squad to do duty in Cameroon but he is one of the 40 players registered by Zimbabwe for the tournament.
The 31-year old has been carrying the Warriors on his little shoulders in the past two AFCON finals in Gabon (2017) and Egypt (2019) and a new hero has to emerge in the event the Kaizer Chiefs forward remains defiant.
But Warriors manager, Wellington Mpandare, who is leading the delegation, maintains there is still some hope that Billiat will be part of the team in Cameroon.
Mpandare’s delegation was expected to travel to South Africa to meet the former Warriors poster-boy physically last week but eventually decided against doing so after learning that Kaizer Chiefs players were staying in a bio-bubble.
“We are still very much hopeful that Khama Billiat will join the team for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. We were supposed to have gone to South Africa and meet him physically but after learning that as Kaizer Chiefs they were staying in a bio-bubble, we then decided not to go there,” said Mpandare.
“That would have compromised their own situation as players given the health protocols they were following.
“Now we have named a 30-member provisional squad ahead of the AFCON finals and we deliberately omitted Khama Billiat’s name from the list because we know that officially he has retired from national duties.
“But the good thing is he knows our situation, he knows we want him back and how we value him as a player. He knows the national team needs him and how much value he puts into the national team. He has been good since we opened negotiations with him and we are very hopeful he will be part of us in Cameroon.
“We have already registered him with CAF so that means the door is already open for him. We are doing everything and we are confident Khama Billiat will come through to be part of us.”
Forty players were registered with CAF and initial plans were for all of them to train together in Harare before the list is trimmed to 23. On that provisional 40-member team was the talismanic Ngezi Platinum Stars play-maker Denver Mukamba.
The lanky midfielder was bouncing back to the Warriors fold after last having a flirtation with the Warriors in the Chan finals in January this year.
Mukamba is one of those who have been omitted from the squad but could be called in should there be any need since he has already been registered.
Other players who have been dropped include UK-based youngster Tawanda Maswanhise who is still to acquire a Zimbabwean passport and also Blessing Sarupinda, Edwin Madhanaga and Devine Lunga. Aston Villa midfielder Marvellous Nakamba, Brendan Galloway and Marshal Munetsi have all withdrawn because of injuries while Tendayi Darikwa has asked to be excused due to personal reasons.
Online Reporter