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2 min readFeb 17, 2026 11:56 PM IST
Zimbabwe skipper Sikander Raza acknowledges the support from travelling fans in Pallekele. (PHOTO: AP)
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza is not ready to bask in the glory of leading his team into the ICC T20 World Cup’s Super 8s just yet. After their match against Ireland was washed out in Pellekele, and Australia had lost to Sri Lanka last night at the same venue, Zimbabwe were assured of a spot in the Super 8s on Tuesday.
Speaking to ICC, Raza was asked about the path to the World Cup after Zimbabwe missed out on the previous edition. The 39-year-old said that self-reflection within the group was key to their success.
“I’ll take you back to when we played the sub-regional qualifiers B, and we played the likes of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and all those teams. And I remember I stood up to my troops and I said, ‘We are in this position or in this mess, as you want to call it, because of us. There’s no-one else to blame. And only we can clear this mess and only we can get out of it’. So what are we gonna do about it? And we won the qualifiers B, regional sub-regional B, then the main qualifiers happened. We won that as well,” said Raza.
Even though Zimbabwe have done well, Raza says that its just one box ticked and that there are still goals remaining that the team is looking to achieve.
“I think we will (celebrate), but for a very short time because we’ve got to travel tomorrow and we’ve got a game against Sri Lanka. As much as we have achieved, it’s just a tick in the box. It’s not the whole box that we set out for. So the group stays focused, the group stays committed, and the sacrifices we have to make for the country and for the team and try and get the results, we’ll do that. There will be a small celebration, but we get ready for the next game because it’s just a tick in the box, like I said. It is not the only goal we set out for,” said Raza.
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