India was taken aback at the way their five-match series against the underdogs Zimbabwe began. They were shocked by a loss to that African nation in the first T20I. But Shubman Gill and co responded in style with a commanding 100-run win in the second game, where Abhishek Sharma hit sixes all through his century.
The series is now tied at 1-1 and things are getting interesting. India will look to build on their resurgence, maintain their dominance, whereas Zimbabwe will be hoping to spring surprises against the world champions.
Former Zimbabwe cricketer Hamilton Masakadza believes that Zimbabwe has what it takes to pressurize team India and secure positive results over the remaining three games.
Just recently TimesofIndia.com caught up with Masakadza who played 38 Tests, 209 ODIs and 66 T20Is for Zimbabwe from 2001 until his retirement in 2019. He spoke about #ZimbabweCricket , retirements of Kohli & Rohit Sharma amongst others. Excerpts:
What have you been up to these days?
When I stopped playing cricket I moved into administration side I was serving as Cricket Director of Zimbabwe Cricket . I have just finished my term recently; so let’s see what happens next few months. The last four years I served as Director of Cricket at Zimbabwe Cricket which just ended.
Can this inexperienced Team India be upset by Zimbabwe?
That’s why Twenty20 cricket is beautiful –anything can happen on the day! This is different from fifty overs’ format or test matches whereby performance has to be sustained for longer periods and more players have to play part.In T20 cricket one individual can change everything on any given day.So,I think we also have a very good chance like most of Indian side.We have been using T20 form for awhile now as our breeding ground and platform for introduction of new players which has made our team also slightly younger with a few fresh faces waiting to be introduced into the international stage.We can’t wait for it.Our team is without most of the senior more established players who play in the other two formats but we are looking forward to see what these young ones can do on an international scale.
It’s always nice when India come over to us. It’s always something that you really look forward to. The Indian side has so much talent and they have many guys who are fighting for places in their senior team. It used to happen quite often, where they would take best players from IPL and bring them straight here in Zimbabwe. They did this for three or four years continuously with players like Raina and Kohli. It’s exciting that India is coming back at home.Playing against India is always a big challenge to any team.
This is a point that I have already made, in T20 cricket format outcomes often come out differently. The thing about shorter formats of the game is you need more than one person to be consistently good. And even those who are performing well must make sure it lasts until the end. This means that in T20 cricket, one player can totally change a match by themselves or win it for their team. So we’re really excited about it. Especially playing at home against India’s youngest team ever, I think we stand a really good chance. We want to put them under pressure and feel very optimistic about achieving positive results. As stated earlier on, this might be an opportunity for us to get into the series without anyone noticing.
What do you say of Shubman Gill as captain for this young Indian side?
The senior players will not be coming, so it’s slightly younger side. There is no doubt regarding Virat Kohli records as he had an extraordinary career when it comes to T20I game. His performances during his entire career were amazing since he always came forward when the stakes of these matches was too high. These guys are keen to play but breaking into the Indian team is no cakewalk. They [the players who have been called up] know this and they cannot wait to get started on their journey with international cricket in front of them at last stage once again. Even if they are a junior side but still they possess quite skilled individuals among them IPL has some international cricketers too; that is why there should be competition among them and new talents bring something different on table.
Tell me more about Zimbabwe’s captain Sikander Raza…
I think we’ve always wanted to play an entertaining brand of cricket which is exactly how we apply our games plans as well.” So we’re looking forward to that (07). The team goes out there being very aggressive every time they take field they do not want to be on the back foot at any given time. When it comes to playing, they are very good in pressing their opponents. Sikander Raza has been a really good player for us over the last three years or so, in all formats. He’s done really well. As was mentioned before he played in several leagues including the IPL so those experiences have taught him a lot about leadership and he has gathered experience as well. I’m really excited about his captaincy because as mentioned earlier he is very positive and aggressive player and that should come out when he becomes captain of Zimbabwe cricket team for me. It’s always going to be an aggressive approach for them whenever they get an opportunity rather than being defensive attitude toward the game.
Should Zimbabwe receive other nations apart from India for a visit?
Regarding that, what do you think?
Yes, we are hoping to welcome a few more teams before the end of this year. We are now playing against India then followed by an away match. Also this year we expect Pakistan, Afghanistan and Ireland to come and play against us. It’s something which we actually looking forward to. Our matches at home have been really good in terms of support from spectators. In our recent qualifiers the fans were amazing and unbelievable. At some point we had to lock down gates due to space constraint for our fans. They have been very supportive though. A team visiting Zimbabwe for cricket can expect a great atmosphere with strong home support; it motivates them so much too because of the boys. One of their benefits has been opponents learning how to sing these songs. And then they use them back in their countries, showing that the local crowd matters hence clearly affecting them. Therefore yes we are waiting for cricket as well as greater support form home. So far three series have been lined up towards end of year.
Do you think there should be more Zimbabwean players in IPL?
Yes I guess so especially now when these leagues are growing, we also want more guys to knock on doors. It is quite different from international cricket since you find yourself playing alongside people you even compete against. But instead it lets you know others out of your normal circle. This will go a long way in improving our players’ skills into these leagues and expect that there will be many who make it not only into IPL but also other leagues all over the world. Blessing Muzarabani has already been called up, Sikandar Raza has started getting call-ups along with Sean Williams and young Richard. We would like some others also having such chances. The effect leagues and international calls ups have had on teams like almost the whole team playing in leagues as seen with Afghanistan is huge. Evidently, this has improved them as a team.Thus yes, we are looking forward to that and I hope more players can have such opportunities.
The 2026 ICC T20 World Cup will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Will Zimbabwe make it to the T20 World Cup?
It was very disappointing that we did not qualify for the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the West Indies and America. We know exactly where we made mistakes and fell short. We want to correct our errors in the last qualifiers ahead of next round of games. Our target is to come back into the bigger stage. Zimbabwe is a team which can shock you just like what happened at world cup in Australia when we beat Pakistan. We know that our team should be playing at all major tournaments. Hence it was really sad not qualifying for the recent one. But we hope for better luck in upcoming qualifier so as to reach next t20 world cup.
At one point, Zimbabwe was the top team in cricket. Why do you think that Zimbabwean cricket went down after players like Andy Flower, Grant Flower and Heath Streak?
Sometimes it’s people who make mistakes at wrong moments. Reading situations rightly and responding to different challenges is a major part of cricket. Therefore, I think we are somewhat lacking here. Some of the decisions that we have made as individuals and as a team have been questionable. But then again, this is what happens when you put young players together that haven’t played together before or don’t have much experience yet. Nonetheless, I am sure they will take a lot from the qualifiers and recent series including the games we had in Bangladesh recently. Players keep growing all the time so for me I think they are in the right direction of trying to fix our errors.
The main reason why we have not won many championships lately has been. Because we were unable to handle pressure adequately or deal effectively with situations presented to us. This is something which will be learn by the players very quickly.
Concerning batting prodigy Rinku Singh…
I believe Rinku is an excellent power hitter, pure striker of a ball and good finisher as well. So he’s just one amongst numerous batters whom we obviously need to look at him too. I also feel Parag has done pretty well also; Jaiswal also,and Gill among others; there’s more than enough talent coming through. I told you earlier on that there will be a bit hard competition this year. Personally, I’m looking forward to watching Rinku kick on. I know he has already played some matches for India but hasn’t really had continuity in his stint with them which i believe he shall get during this tour. So i am looking forward to seeing how he goes about things. He is an exciting player so i am waiting eagerly to see what comes out from him. For Zimbabwe this means nothing new because they are use to it.
You have played against Virat, Rohit and Jadeja who retired from T20Is following India’s victory in the T20 World Cup, any message for them.
A great career. The world of cricket will be a poorer place. Their departure is going to make T20 cricket poorer than ever before. I would just like to say thank you for all the memories that they have given us. Yes they did their best, entertained us so much and left us with some unforgettable moments. Jadeja was one amazing competitor with both the ball and in the field. Towards the end of his career he obviously changed his game to be slightly more aggressive and kick on earlier which we never saw before; it was another side of him. His selflessness as well as his captaincy skills, all-round techniques and tactics were a pleasure to watch.
Virat happens to be the player for the big occasion, the player for the big game. I must say that his ability to handle pressure during crucial matches was exemplary. Meaning they have done well in T20 cricket and we hope that these guys can continue shining also in other forms of cricket. But at least we will still have them with us, who will continue giving us entertainment. However, they did perform exceedingly well in T20 format, most notably when they won their last appearance in this year’s World Cup for India. They excelled in all three T20 careers.
Who are the two players on current squad who you see as suitable replacements for Kohli and Sharma?
It is a big void; it is not easy to find replacements of such kind players. Nevertheless, with India, there are so many talented players out there within an expansive pool of players still. I am sure replacing them would not be an issue for India. But yeah man it’s going to be really difficult to get players like those three again right? I am super excited about Shubman Gill becoming better and better day by day. Yes I have seen him play across all formats a bit and he’s fantastic! He can replace the ones about to leave out there as well.” Yashasvi too…. He had an amazing start in his international career. These are just among some of the names that could potentially go a long way towards filling up this great hole left by these world-class individuals.
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