Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi and Blessing Malinganiza
ZIMBABWE T20I cricket captain Sikandar Raza said there was no shame in losing to world champions India and is looking forward to the Chevrons quickly picking up the pieces and moving on ahead of a proposed T20I triangular series to be hosted by Namibia.
The veteran all-rounder reckons Zimbabwe should pick the positives and aim to build on their strengths going for-ward, following the 0-3 T20I series whitewash by the reigning T20 champions.
Raza said the Chevrons, who showed so much promise earlier this year with spirited performances at the ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, have been looking to revamp their team to improve performances.
“You know, the journey started long ago. We wanted to change a few things in the changing room. We wanted to be there for each other’s success. We wanted to be there for each other’s failures.
“We wanted to put our hearts on our sleeves. We wanted to die for every ball. We wanted to bowl every ball within ten and bat every ball within ten,” said Raza.
“Along the way, especially this new cycle, we want to change a few things because we feel like we have to match the intensity of the world cricket.
“And along the way, we will have some bad games, and I’m very okay with that. But one thing I do know, once the lessons, once the experience go back to match the standard of the World Cricket, once Zimbabwe come out, we will flourish.”
Zimbabwe will now focus its attention on the proposed T20I triangular, which has been tentatively set for the end of August.
Although there are no confirmations yet, the series is set to feature hosts Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The idea was tabled during the ICC Africa Regional Conference held in Namibia.
While the whole Zimbabwe team will go back to the drawing board, Raza said he would use the coming weeks to work specifically on his game after a disappointing T20I series against India in which he returned scores of 0, 4, and 0 with the bat.
“Certainly, I will try to buy a run for myself. That’ll be the first thing I look at. The team has held itself really well without my contributions.
“But as a leader, I know where I’ve faltered and what I need to do, and I still need to be leading this team from the front with everything that I do. But very happy about the team has gone about their business without me scoring runs,” said Raza.
Despite being outclassed by India in all departments, explosive batsman Ryan Burl believes there is a lot to learn from the just-ended series. Burl emerged as Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer, accumulating 100 runs from 96 deliveries across the series.
He was the only Zimbabwe batter to reach three figures on aggregate and also registered the hosts’ only half-century of the series.
The left-hander began with a patient 26 from 35 balls in Zimbabwe’s seven-wicket defeat in the opening match before contributing 20 from 18 deliveries as India sealed the series with a commanding 90-run victory in the second encounter.
He saved his best performance for the final match, anchoring Zimbabwe’s chase with an unbeaten 54 from 43 balls.
His effort helped the hosts reach 157/7 in pursuit of India’s 193, but they eventually fell 35 runs short.
Reflecting on the series, Burl said they had identified encouraging signs despite being outplayed in all three matches.
“There are several things we can take forward. It was encouraging to see some of our guys perform exceptionally well across the three matches,” said Burl.
“Some things that have worked for us in the past did not quite come off in this series, particularly our power-hitting. However, our batters showed encouraging signs. Wesley (Madhevere) and Ben (Curran) controlled their innings well today and adapted to the conditions.”
Zimbabwe struggled to establish meaningful partnerships throughout the series, while their middle and lower order were repeatedly left with the responsibility of rebuilding after early wickets.
Burl believes the experience gained against India will help the players ahead of their longer-term international assignments.
“Those experiences will make us better players and a stronger team, particularly as we look towards the World Cup in just over a year.
“We are experimenting with a few things and trying different combinations in the line-up. We will continue working hard and taking things one step at a time,” Burl said.
