Tinaye Agere
Sports Reporter
FOR Zimbabwe’s young cricketers, it has been a month well-spent in India as they brace for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Their tour of India, which they described as one full of lessons and experiences, was a key part of preparations for the World Cup scheduled for Sri Lanka.
Zimbabwe are among the 11 teams that will battle it out for honours.
“The trip to India was specifically for our preparation practice for us as coaches to build a team and expose our players to sub-continent conditions,” said coach Prosper Utseya.
“I am happy with our progress thus far; we are on the right trajectory.
“The players have progressed well and we are so humbled by the way players went about their business on and off the field.” With the bulk of the players still going to school, Utseya said they had resorted to using school holidays to hold training camps.
He believes playing other junior national teams will be vital in their preparations.
“Tours of this magnitude go a long way in our players’ development pathway.
“Lots of positives came out of the tour.
“Our players have shown great signs of improvement at the level of competition we played and now we want to play more competitive teams like national Under-19 teams, and ZC (Zimbabwe Cricket) is working hard to ensure that we tick that box,” he said.
The Young Chevrons played two three-day games and four 50-overs games in India.
They lost the first three-day game before bouncing back to win the next two.
Zimbabwe also triumphed in their four 50-overs games against some Indian club sides.
During the tour, they were afforded the rare opportunity to watch an India Premier League (IPL) match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians by Chevrons all-rounder Sikandar Raza.
“It was an incredible experience and such an exciting game to watch. The boys will remember that for a long time, and the boys felt very fortunate and happy with the gesture,” added Utseya.
Former Chevrons coach Lalchand Rajput, who facilitated the tour, said he felt that the Young Chevrons needed to be exposed to the sub-continent conditions as they prepare for the World Cup.
“The Zimbabwe U-19 team will be playing in Sri Lanka, hence I organised that they can come and get exposure to the sub-continent conditions.
“And I am happy with the progress they made during their stay here . . .
“Playing away from home builds the team,” said Rajput.
“Exposing these youngsters to international cricket ensures that we have continuity, and the youngsters, once picked for the national team, will know what to expect and not be caught by surprise.
“Working with Zimbabwe Cricket, we will continue facilitating such tours to allow us to expose our players to different conditions.”
Online Reporter