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It’s time that senior players, including myself, step up: Sikandar Raza
Follow UsOn the day, Zimbabwe fell short by 23 runs and it was a clash in which senior players failed to come to the party, again
As Zimbabwe slipped to their second consecutive defeat of the series in the ongoing five-match series against India, their skipper Sikandar Raza fumed in the aftermath of the loss, discontent with the underperformance of the senior players, including himself.
On the day, Zimbabwe fell short by 23 runs and it was a clash in which senior players failed to come to the party, again. While Raza did well with the ball in hand (2/24), he posted his third consecutive sub-20 score with the bat. The likes of Richard Ngarava (0/39) and Tendai Chatara (0/30), meanwhile, were underwhelming with the ball.
With the hosts 2-1 down in the series, Raza was upset with the no-show of the seniors.
“It is time we senior players, including me, take the responsibility. I can accept some mistakes from the young side but the seniors need to step up,” Raza said after the game.
Speaking about the game, Raza said that Zimbabwe lost the match in the field. The second T20I saw Zimbabwe drop an eye-watering four catches. On top of that, there were also misfields that cost the side an extra 15-20 runs.
“Think it is the fielding again [where we lost the game],” Raza said.
“We are very proud of it but the wheels are coming off again. We gave away 20 runs extra.”
Opening has been an area that has been a real Achilles Heel for Zimbabwe. Since 2023, they are averaging just 17.96 for the opening pair. After adding six and four runs for the first wicket in the first and second T20I, respectively, the hosts added just nine runs for the opening stand in the third T20I on July 10 (Wednesday).
Raza admitted that top order is a real cause for concern for the side, but asserted that the management will continue to back the current lot, whom they believe are the best bet to succeed in the long term.
“We still have problems at the top, but we are backing the boys. I know they are trying and once they do, we will come good again. We have tried 15 different [opening] partners in a year and a half. There is a lot of cricket going in the country. We are trying to do everything,” Raza said.
“Bennett is doing well at no. 3. This is the best we have and this is the best that we can do.”
Zimbabwe have two days off before the must-win fourth T20I, which will be played on July 13 (Saturday).
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