MUMBAI: Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza led celebrations as his side sealed qualification for the Super Eights of the 2026 T20 World Cup after their match against Ireland was washed out, in front of a handful of fans at Pallekele.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The moment marked a contrast to Nov 2023 in Windhoek, Namibia, when a dejected Raza sat in the dressing room as Uganda celebrated a win over Zimbabwe during the African qualifiers.It was Zimbabwe’s second loss in that competition, which eventually led to them missing out on the 2024 T20 World Cup berth.
Raza’s smile has widened with each win in this edition. At 39, he is the fittest player in the squad and has led from the front while captaining, batting and bowling. His 26-ball 45 gave Zimbabwe the push they needed as they beat hosts Sri Lanka in the last match to top their group. With the ball, he took the new ball so that he did not overexpose his pacers or other spinners in the Powerplay.Raza said he did not want to speak about his journey and focused instead on what the team achieved and how they grew in confidence with each win.
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“I think that’s what win does, it sort of lifts you, the confidence comes back and you start believing a lot more,” said Raza, who sat second in the ICC T20 allrounder’s list.He added: “With every win it (confidence) has changed. In the first game I could see that there was confidence and belief but with every game that has got better. After the Ireland game when we qualified, I could see that the boys, as much as they were hungry, were relieved by the fact that we had qualified.”Others in the Zimbabwe camp praised Raza, who made his debut for the national team more than a decade back. Former opener Dion Ebrahim called him a “global superstar” after Zimbabwe’s victory over Sri Lanka last week. “I think we’re in the presence of brilliance. He’s up there with the greats.” Raza has scored 2958 runs and has 103 wickets in 130 matches for Zimbabwe, with many performances coming in difficult situations. He also travelled across continents to play in franchise leagues, including the IPL, and said he wanted to pass on that knowledge to teammates who had limited franchise experience so they could tackle the shortest format more effectively, especially in major tournaments.“Myself, Blessing (Muzarabani), Ryan (Burl), Richard (Ngarava) and all the other cricketers who have gone overseas for franchise cricket, we have always come back and spoken to the boys. We always try to share those experiences because if the boy hasn’t got an experience, the least we can do is share the knowledge that we have gained when we have travelled overseas. So, I’m sure it has helped some of the boys, if not all,” said Raza.Zimbabwe played all their matches in Sri Lanka before travelling to India for their Super Eights fixtures, starting with Monday’s clash against West Indies. Not many of their players played in India, but Raza said the team could adapt quickly. “Regardless of how the result goes, I don’t think it will be because we couldn’t adjust to conditions. If a team or an individual hasn’t had that experience, rather than using that as an excuse.”
