Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons is backing all-rounder Sikandar Raza to lead the home side “from the front” during the five-match T20I series which is set to begin on Saturday.
Raza is one of the most experienced players in Zimbabwe’s squad as he has been playing in T20 leagues over the years and thus, was named the captain for the series against India.
“I think we’re very fortunate to have a player like Sikandar Raza leading the side. He brings great experience, We want him to lead from the front. He’s been superb in the changing room and taking the players under his wing. We want his bat to do the talking. as well as his bowling,” Sammons toldPress Trust of India (PTI).
This will be India’s first outing since winning the T20 World Cup 2024 and three players from that squad — Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson — are expected to be available from third T20I.
“This is an opportunity for this team to do that and to showcase their skills against the best and obviously to get an understanding of where they’re at,” said Sammons, who was South Africa’s batting consultant between 2021 to 2023.
Sammons added that his focus is on the future and aims to build a good team in the next two years to compete. He also hoped that the players would be able to improve their game awareness skills.
“I don’t want to dwell on what’s happened in the past, but what I want to do is obviously focus on the future. We’ve created a clear vision in terms of where this team wants to go within the next two or three years,” he added.
“We’re encouraging players to continually want to up-skill and improve. And they know they’re going to be taken out of their comfort zone in doing that.”
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Milton Shumba.
India: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wkt), Dhruv Jurel (wkt), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube.