Tatenda Taibu reaches out to Taylor
ZIMBABWE CRICKET convener of selectors Tatenda Taibu intends to lure some former national team players, who include former skipper Brendan Taylor, back into the fold.
IN A podcast with renowned cricket commentator Dean Du Plessis, a seemingly relaxed Taibu spoke of the massive work he has been putting into local cricket away from the prying eyes of the media since his surprise appointment four months ago.
The former national team skipper disclosed that he has already sounded out Taylor, Jarvis, Solomon Mire and Njabulo Ncube about the possibilities of playing for the Chevrons again.
“What I have done, so far, is speak to a couple of players, among them the likes of Brendan Taylor, Kyle Jarvis, Solomon Mire, Njabulo Ncube and a host of other guys in South Africa.
“The relationship that I have with these players is that they know me, trust that I am a man of my word and speak my mind no matter what.
“The situation we have now, is that they will take my word when I come calling, but before then I really want to get a better understanding of Zimbabwe Cricket and the route the sport is headed,” he said.
Taibu added that work on his soon to be published autobiography has forced him to divide his time between Zimbabwe and England where the book is in the final stages of production.
“Fortunately, most the work with my book is done and now I intend to focus all my energy on my job here with Zimbabwe Cricket,’ he said.
Having walked away from the game at the prime of his career in 2011, the now 33-year-old Taibu told Du Plessis that he decided to come back into the game because his “heart is now right with God.”
“Originally, I had no plans of ever coming back,” said Taibu.
“I had a calling in my heart, and I just followed that calling. I shut down doors to everything so I could concentrate on my calling and for four years I learnt a lot of things and finally got to a place where my heart was right with God.
“I got to a situation where I found peace in heart, and thought I could now afford to accommodate other things in my life.”
Taylor, who succeeded Taibu as the Chevrons wicket-keeper, would be a great addition to the team should he return.
He retired from international cricket, soon after the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, to sign a three-year Kolpak deal with county side Nottinghamshire.
Taylor played a total of 23 Tests and 167 ODIs, scoring 1493 and 5258 runs respectively for Zimbabwe during his 11 years of international cricket.
The addition of Jarvis, Mire and Ncube could give the Chevrons some much needed depth, particularly in the bowling department.
The trio cut their promising international careers short with retirement after having only played a combined nine Tests and 38 ODIs between them..