Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SIKANDAR Raza is keen to stay in the game a bit longer and see the Chevrons continue with their momentum at the next ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2028.
The Chevrons all-rounder was thrilled after Zimbabwe reached the Super Eight for the first time and earned an automatic slot for the next T20 World Cup event to be held in New Zealand and Australia.
Raza underlined his value as the best all-rounder in the world with some top performances in Zimbabwe’s campaign.
At the age of 39 years, Raza has not showed signs of slowing down in the field as well as with bat and ball and would want to contribute again for the 2027 ODI World Cup and 2028 T20 World Cup campaigns.
“Certainly, very much so. It looks too far away for some of us, but we see where we are and we see how we go.
“But I just think for me, the culture we have built in the change room, you know, whether we are there or we are not there, I think this team should be on autopilot and things should be very smooth.
“Hopefully if Allah wills it, all the senior boys are fit and healthy, we would love to be part of that as well.
“But having said that, the culture we have built, the relations we have built with the fans home and away, I just think we’re onto something here and the hope, most importantly, that we have given to people back home.
Zimbabwe had a dream run in the group stages of the campaign when they finished top of Group B with a clean record.
Among their tournament highlights were the famous victories against giants Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka.
But they learnt harsh lessons in the Super Eight where they were dominated by West Indies, India and South Africa.
“Certainly qualifying (to the Super Eights) was a big step. Getting a ticket to the next World Cup without the qualifiers, massive achievement.
“I think in these Super 8s, as much as we have lost, I can assure you, the lessons we have taken on. After the first game, we got better. After the second game, we even got better.
“So, these are the things that when I look into my team and say, you know what? We are learning, we are growing, and as a captain, I couldn’t have asked for more and I couldn’t be more proud of the boys.
“So, as a captain and as a leader, I’m very, very proud of this bunch of boys because I genuinely felt that we got better with every game that went on, and hopefully when we come back to the ICC event next time we’ll be even better.”
He believes the success of the Chevrons will inspire the nation to invest more in the sport.
“The Chevrons have done something that hasn’t been done before. And I think the hope to the parents to allow their kids to take cricket as a primarily sport so that our depth can get better, our standards can get better.
“Because right now, immediate thing that Zimbabwe needs to do is to improve the pool of players.
‘‘But I think what we have achieved now, Zimbabwe doesn’t need to really do anything. I think it’s going to happen automatically now,” said Raza.
