ZC in no hurry to appoint new Chevrons skipper
ZIMBABWE Cricket (ZC) are in no hurry to appoint the next national team captain since the Chevrons are only next in action at the beginning of next year.
Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the ZC chairman said with Peter Moor in place as the vice-captain, there was no need to rush in appointing a new team leader to replace Hamilton Masakadza who retired last month.
“We have a vice-captain in place, who I think is a very good cricketer in PJ Moor and he has captained Zimbabwe, he has captained the A side, he has captained Zimbabwe during the UAE tour, we won the series and he captained very well. I think he has got respect for his colleagues,’’ Mukuhlani said.
Batting all rounder Sean Williams led the Chevrons in their triangular series in Singapore, with Mukuhlani indicating that the former Under-19 skipper proved that he has what it takes to lead the team.
“We tried Sean Williams during the Singapore series, Sean has what it takes in terms of demanding performance, he is a natural winner, an outstanding cricketer, he has given a lot to the game. Having said that we have many other youngsters that are within the group that we also believe should be looked at.”
After what transpired over the last few months where Zimbabwe had their membership suspended by the International Cricket in July with the suspension eventually lifted on 14 October, Mukuhlani is of the view that there is a need for healing in the Chevrons before a new captain gets appointed.
“More so we want a proper scientific approach when you are appointing the captain. We don’t want to rush this soon after what has happened because one of the things that must happen is that the team must get together, it’s key that the team must get back together, there must be a healing process, they find each other, they must respect each other as a team. So only when we have a well gelled unit then we find a leader within so we are not in a hurry but it’s something that we will do,’’ Mukuhlani said.
Zimbabwe are next in action in January 2020 when Sri Lanka visit the country. While the Asians are meant to play two Tests, Mukuhlani gave indications that these will be converted into One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.
“Sri Lanka are coming to Zimbabwe for two Tests but we are going to convert that to ODIs and T20Is. The tour is from 15 to 31 January, it’s on the FTP.”
A lot of cricket is lined up for Zimbabwe in 2020 with the kicking of the ICC Super League, which is a pathway for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup qualification.
What excites Mukuhlani about the ICC Super League is that Zimbabwe will get to play against some of the top ODI cricket playing nations in the world.
“There are a lot of games in the Super League, we are looking forward to the Super League because the Super League will give us a lot of cricket against the top ODI cricket playing countries in the world,” the ZC boss said.
Zimbabwe will face Australia, India, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan from June 2020 to November 2021. Each series will be made up of three matches, which means Zimbabwe will play 24 ODIs during that period.
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