(PTI Photo)
Despite Zimbabwe’s series loss to India in the T20Is, captain Sikandar Raza remained optimistic about his team’s performance. While acknowledging the defeat, Raza highlighted several encouraging aspects that emerged throughout the series.
India sealed the series with a comprehensive 42-run victory over Zimbabwe in the final T20I, ultimately clinching the series 4-1. Zimbabwe had initially stunned India by winning the first T20I to take an early 1-0 lead. However, India, led by Shubman Gill, displayed resilience and rallied back strongly to win the subsequent four matches.
Raza expressed satisfaction with the growth and positive developments witnessed in his team’s play despite the overall outcome of the series.
“There has been lot of positives” – Sikandar Raza
Following the match, Sikandar Raza focused on the positives, asserting that his team’s performance didn’t reflect the scoreline. Raza emphasized that Zimbabwe was convincingly outplayed in just one game, while the remainder of the matches were closely contested affairs. He maintained that despite the final results, Zimbabwe had shown competitive spirit throughout the series.
“The scoreline doesn’t suggest (our performance). I think we got outplayed in one out of the five games. The other four games have been very competitive. We are still taking our chances. I am always a guy who is looking at the positive things. There has been lot of positives,” Raza said.
While highlighting the positives, Raza acknowledged that his team’s fielding lapses had been a critical factor in allowing India to regain momentum in the game.
“I can’t keep my eyes close on the things that we really need to work on. It’s important to address the fact that we made a lot of mistakes in the field that allowed the opposition to come back into the game again and again,” Raza felt.
The 38-year-old emphasized that his team possesses the potential to become formidable in the near future. However, he cautioned them to swiftly address areas needing improvement, particularly with the qualifiers for the next World Cup on the horizon.
“But if someone asks me would I change my mind about this team, my answer will be no. I think we have all the right ingredients to be a mid-table team very soon. The team needs a bit of care, nurturing, sometimes with a little bit of beating as well with harsh words at times,” Raza mentioned.
“But I think we will get there. We may not have a lot of time. I have seen the fixtures for the qualifiers that are out soon. So we really have to pull up our socks,” he added.
“It is a blessed position to be in” – Sikandar Raza on being the senior member of the team
When questioned about whether Zimbabwe depends too heavily on him, Raza replied that as the most senior member of the team, it falls upon him to lead by example. He asserted that Zimbabwe possesses sufficient depth and talent within their squad but stressed the importance of achieving consistency moving forward.
“Because I am the most senior guy with a lot of experience. It’s rightly so. It is a blessed position to be in. I don’t think we overly rely on myself. There is enough talent in the change room,” Raza said.
“There is enough quality and confidence among the players to do the job. A lot of us have shown glimpses. We need to make sure that we put those glimpses together in every game as consistently as possible that will allow us to win more games and be a lot competitive in the future,” the allrounder added.
