T20 World Cup 2026: ‘Victories we’ve had so far will count for nothing, if there’s a slip-up now’ — Sikandar Raza

Zimbabwe has been the talk of the town at the T20 World Cup 2026. Victory over Australia in Group B leaves the side with a realistic shot at achieving its maiden Super Eight appearance.

Despite the overflowing plaudits from the cricket fraternity, captain Sikandar Raza insists the team is only focussed on taking it one game at a time.

“It’s a lovely position to be in. But the next game becomes the most important game, and hopefully, we get a good result out of the game. The game after that becomes the most important game,” the Zimbabwean skipper said. 

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“Fine, we’ve had two results. Fine, the world is talking about Zimbabwe. It is great. But let them do all the talking for us. Those victories that we have had so far will count for nothing, especially if there is a slip-up now. Everybody remains very focussed,” he added. 

Raza concurred that trying to stay in the present has been a challenge, considering there is excitement building up within the squad, looking at how close the destination is.

“The beauty of these ICC events is that every game is practically a knockout game. And I think it’s great for our own mental toughness and growth as well, how well we handle our own expectations rather than what the world wants from us,” the all-rounder quipped.

“Once we qualified [for the World Cup], I said in an interview that ICC events change lives in every way, whether that is recognition, fame, respect, or even financially. Hopefully, we can keep writing our own history and keep going further than we ever went in our history,” he added. 

Zimbabwe’s success has been built on the performances of its pace-bowling attack, featuring Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans. Raza said that finding out the perfect combination and sticking with it over nine months has helped the pacers revel.

“They have been good for a long time—Blessing, Ngarava, Brad, even [Tinotenda] Maposa when he’s given the opportunity. It’s nice how they’re going about their job, and I’m praying and hoping that they will have more success as the tournament goes on,” the captain said.

Ireland’s Mark Adair also heaped praise on the Zimbabwe pace unit ahead of the game on Tuesday. “I think they’re really starting to round out that team and round out that attack. They’re probably as good a bowling lineup as you’ll find in this competition. It’s definitely a challenge for our batters, but it’s something that we’re looking forward to,” the all-rounder said. 

Published on Feb 16, 2026