"Biggest Learning Is The Experience That We Have Had": Sikandar Raza After India T20I Series
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza believes the valuable learnings from his side's three-match T20I series against India will be crucial in helping bridge the gap between Zimbabwe and the world's top cricket-playing nations.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza believes the valuable learnings from his side's three-match T20I series against India, which ended in a 3-0 defeat, will be crucial in helping bridge the gap between Zimbabwe and the world's top cricket-playing nations. At the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, Zimbabwe's bowlers were taken apart by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who hit a sparkling 81 as India posted a formidable 192/5. In reply, despite Ryan Burl's unbeaten 54, Zimbabwe were never really in the hunt and eventually finished at 157/7.
"A lot of them, to be honest with you. I think, firstly, well done to Zimbabwe Cricket for hosting these fixtures because if you do not play against the top nations in the world as a country, we can't grow.
"And I think world cricket is much better when all the countries are playing good cricket. So the learnings from this series will certainly help us bridge that gap between the top nations and the slightly lower-ranked nations because I feel like cricket is a lot more entertaining when everybody is playing really well," Raza said at the conclusion of the series.
He also praised the youngsters who stepped up during the series against India, the reigning T20 World Cup holders.
"And for us, the biggest learning is the experience that we have had. Nyamhuri has certainly been a great addition to the side as well. Marumani taking on the number six and seven role. Madhevere has had some decent runs. So, there's a lot of good things that I can think of. So, very happy," added Raza.
Opening up on the evolving dressing-room ethos and the cultural shift within the team over recent months, Raza stressed the importance of playing with relentless intent and matching global standards.
"The journey started long ago. We wanted to change a few things in the dressing room. We wanted to be there for each other's success. We wanted to be there for each other's failures.
"We wanted to wear our hearts on our sleeves. We wanted to fight for every ball. We wanted to bowl every ball with intent and bat every ball with intent. Along the way, especially in this new cycle, we wanted to change a few things because we feel like we have to match the intensity of 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 and experience we have had match the standard of world cricket, once Zimbabwe come out, we will flourish," he explained.
On a personal front, Raza endured a tough series with the bat, including a golden duck in the final game. Looking ahead to Zimbabwe's upcoming tour of Namibia for a tri-series, he acknowledged his lean patch with a touch of humour while pledging to lead from the front.
"Certainly try and buy a run for myself. That will be the first thing I look at," he said with a smile. "No, the team has held themselves really well without my contributions. But as a leader, I know where I falter 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 with how the team has gone about its business without me scoring runs. Hopefully, when I start contributing, I'll add a lot more to the team's success. And I'm pretty sure those runs are around the corner," he concluded.
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Zimbabwe Cricket Team
India Cricket Team
Sikandar Raza