Hard work of last two weeks pays off for Zimbabwe. After defeating Bangladesh in the T20 and ODI series. The team’s ability to put up solid performances in spite of the absence of experienced players like captain Craig Ervine, all-rounder Sean Williams, and pacers Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara was encouraging. Except for Barring Williams, who had to miss due to personal obligations, others were wounded.
Zimbabwe’s batting coach, Lance Klusener, a former all-rounder for South Africa, discussed the upcoming series, the things he wants his team to work on, and more.
What are your hopes from the series between Zimbabwe and India?
We are all looking forward to this series. A squad like Zimbabwe will get a lot of experience playing against a good team like India. It presents an excellent challenge for us and a chance for our players to develop. However, we want to play solid cricket, therefore we’re urging India to match our level of effort. If they do that, they might be too powerful for us, but ODI cricket is a quirky game where anything can happen if we play effectively and put them under pressure.
What do you think needs to change for the Zimbabwean batting team in the upcoming months?
In terms of batting, I believe we could stand to be more consistent. Yes, we defeated Bangladesh in a series, but we didn’t necessarily start well. That is something that worries us, so before the India series, we will need to focus on it. We’ve been fortunate that (Sikandar) Raza and a few other players have played well, but we need our batting unit as a whole to deliver.
Hardik Pandya’s comeback to international cricket has been successful. What do you think about his presence over here on the Indian side?
A fast-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya strengthens any cricket squad or white-ball side. He’s back and taking on the form we’re used to, which is wonderful. When Hardik Pandya is playing at his best, the Indian team has a completely different look.
