Sikandar Raza escapes sack for T20I series against Ireland Starting on 7th December in Harare.
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Dec 5, 2023 4:32 pm
Zimbabwe Cricket (Source-Twitter)
Sikandar Raza has been retained as the skipper of Zimbabwe for the upcoming three –match T20I series against Ireland. Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup having finished third in the African region qualifiers.
Namibia and Uganda qualified for the tournament in 2024 to be held in West Indies and the USA. For the second successive time Zimbabwe has failed to qualify for a global event. Craig Ervine saw his side fail to qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament in India.
New faces picked by Zimbabwe for Ireland Series –
Zimbabwe Cricket Team is set to host Ireland for three T20 games starting on 9th of December. Sikandar Raza is set to continue his role as the skipper of the side. The selectors have made some changes to the squad and gone in for new players for the series.
20-year-old Brian Bennett has been named in the squad along with Trevor Gwandu. The 25-year-old all-rounder has played just 11 T20 games scoring 35 runs and picking 3 wickets.
Bennett on the other hand has played 5 games scoring 133 runs with a best of 62 not out. The 20-year-old has also picked 1 wicket with the ball in his short domestic T20 career. Meanwhile, spin bowler Brandon Mavuta and batter Tony Munyonga have been given their recalls to the Zimbabwe side.
Opening batters Innocent Kaia, and Nick Welch along with fast bowler Tendai Chatara and spinner Wellington Masakadza have been omitted. The casualty happened after Zimbabwe’s bad performance during the T20 World Cup African qualifiers held in Namibia.
Sikandar Raza and his mean lost to Namibia in their first game. This was followed by a loss to Uganda which meant that Zimbabwe missed out on qualification. Uganda has qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup for the first time ever.
Harare Sports Complex will host all three T20 games against Ireland. The first game is set to be played on the 7th December. The next two games will be played on the 9th and 10th of December.
Zimbabwe Squad for Ireland T20 Series –
Sikandar Raza (Captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Craig Ervine, Trevor Gwandu, Luke Jongwe, Clive Madande, Wesley Madhevere, T. Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Carl Mumba, Tony Munyonga, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Sean Williams.
