Pakistani Raza made Zimbabwe ‘Sikander’, this is how the whole story changed in two years

Zimbabwe team was playing the qualifier match for World Cup 2024. The date was 26th November and the year was 2023. The team had to win at any cost. The Ugandan team was in front. Batting first, Zimbabwe scored 136 runs at the loss of 7 wickets. The top order failed and the middle order also did not fare much. Uganda not only won the match but also ruined Zimbabwe’s hopes of playing the World Cup. This was embarrassing and shocking for the team. The team that lost the qualifiers in the Africa Region 3 years ago has today become a challenge for the World Champions teams under the captaincy of Sikandar Raza.

By defeating Sri Lanka in the last league match of Group B, Zimbabwe once again proved that their victory over Australia was no fluke. This team has now reached the Super-8 by becoming the top team of its Group B, where it will face South Africa, West Indies and India. The way Zimbabwe has played so far in this World Cup, it has become clear that it will not be easy for the fellow teams to overcome them in the Super-8.

This is the same team which last reached the Super Six of a World Cup in 2003, after that the team reached Super-12 only in 2022. She could not even qualify in 2024 and is now performing in a way that hardly anyone had thought of. How high the team’s morale was can be gauged from the statement of assistant coach Dion Ibrahim, who said that only rain stopped them from winning all four matches in the group, due to which the match with Ireland could not be played.

The person who is considered to have the most influence behind this charisma of Zimbabwe is Sikandar Raza. When Sikandar was given the command of the team, the board was struggling with financial problems. The team was continuously losing. In such a situation, Sikandar became the backbone of the team who taught the team to fight with his all-round performance.

In two years from 2023 to 2024, Sikandar took 70 wickets with the ball and scored hundreds of runs. Meanwhile, Sikandar was also nominated for awards like ICC Player of the Year. He also got a place in the list of white ball players of the world. Sikandar made the team disciplined and made them believe that if they fight, they will also win. He gave the team a warrior mentality and became the poster boy of Zimbabwe cricket.

Alexander is a global superstar, he is among the great players. Zimbabwe is now going to India for the Super Eights, a stage that every player in the team was desperate to reach.
Diogen Ibrahim, assistant coach, Zimbabwe