ZIM vs IND: Can Zimbabwe’s Star Player Cause Young Indian Team Troubles?

ZIM vs IND: Head coach Justin Sammons mentioned that Sikandar Raza’s extensive experience in various T20 leagues will be invaluable for the relatively inexperienced Zimbabwe team as they face a strong Indian side filled with IPL players. This five-match series begins on Saturday.

Zimbabwe Coach Hails Sikandar Raza’s Leadership

“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 said in an exclusive interview with PTI Videos from Harare.

“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 told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview from Harare.

Traditionally, Indian selectors have rested top players during summer tours to Africa, where the broadcast rights for a five-match T20I series help maintain the host country’s cricket board. Despite this, three players from the T20 World Cup-winning squad—Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson—are expected to be available from the third game. All four standby players, including captain Shubman Gill, are part of the setup, bringing the total to seven.

“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

ZIM coach praises IND skipper Shubman Gill

Sammons emphasized focusing on the future and building a strong team over the next two years by improving players’ game awareness and honing their skills for the elite level. He also praised young Indian skipper Shubman Gill, highlighting his impressive work ethic, which has led to a successful 18-month period across all formats.

“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…

“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,” he added.

The coach also heaped praises on newbie Riyan Parag.

“We can see how dangerous Riyan Parag is. He had a great IPL, showed his worth there. Again, another exciting prospect for India. Again, it’s another opportunity for our guys to test themselves against the best,” he concluded.

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