‘Everybody loves an underdog story’ – The 2026 T20 World Cup is all about Zimbabwe

Colombo – The R Premadasa Stadium rocked for three and a half hours on Thursday night, and while the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe contest was officially a dead rubber, the 30,000-strong drum-thumping home crowd discovered that the 2026 T20 World Cup co-hosts have already found their heartbeat: Zimbabwe.

Sikandar Raza’s men thumped the 2014 champions by six wickets, capping a group stage in which they had already accounted for Australia and Sri Lanka. The result sends Zimbabwe into the Super Eight as the tournament’s most compelling narrative, a side that began the cycle in a Kenyan sub-regional qualifier against Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles and Gambia and will now face India, South Africa and the two-time champion West Indies.

“I don’t think anybody gave us a chance to be where we are,” Raza said at the post-match presentation, streamers still drifting from the stands. “To win people’s hearts and earn their respect, it’s a wonderful position to be in.”

The 39-year-old all-rounder has become the face of the renaissance. Born in Sialkot, Pakistan, diverted through a computing degree in Glasgow and almost lost to a life-threatening bone-marrow infection in 2021, Raza has reinvented himself as a T20 globetrotter while guiding a young squad that had never experienced a stage this size. Wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani, 24, admitted the din of 30,000 Lankan fans was “nerve-racking”; Zimbabwe still chased 141 with eight balls to spare.

Assistant coach Dion Ebrahim calls Raza “a global superstar up there with the greats. He leads through action—meticulous, intense, constantly improving. Players follow him because they see the brilliance first-hand.”

Zimbabwe’s recent major-tournament history is a study in extremes. After stunning Australia on their 1983 World Cup debut, they failed to qualify for the 2019 50-over edition, missed the 2021 T20 World Cup during an ICC suspension, and were shocked by Uganda in a 2023 qualifier. Raza credits the low point for a culture reset. “We sat down and said either we feel sorry for ourselves or understand the reality—we put ourselves here and only we can get ourselves out.”

The plan hatched in Kenya has delivered tangible reward. By eliminating Australia in the group stage Zimbabwe secured automatic entry into the 2028 T20 World Cup, ensuring they will not have to navigate the qualifier maze that has haunted them for a decade.

Next up is India at a sold-out MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Rankings tag Zimbabwe as underdogs; the dressing room embraces the label. “Very little pressure sits with us,” Ebrahim noted. “T20 is decided by moments. If we keep performing at the level we have shown the last three games, who knows?”

Raza, ever the realist, prefers a broader lens. “Reaching the Super Eight is part of a larger goal—to bring lasting recognition to cricket in Zimbabwe. If we win two out of three, anything can happen. Everybody loves an underdog story.”

On Thursday night in Colombo, the underdogs were the life of the party. If their story continues, the 2026 T20 World Cup may yet belong to them.