'Everybody loves an underdog story, don't they?': Sikandar Raza after Zimbabwe reach Super 8s

Pallekele—When the final squalls swept across Pallekele International Stadium on Tuesday night and forced officials to abandon Zimbabwe’s Group B clash with Ireland, the point each side collected felt like a thunder-clap for the tournament narrative. The no-result lifted Zimbabwe to five points, officially punched their ticket to the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s, and—perhaps most dramatically—extinguished Australia’s hopes of progressing.

Speaking moments after the qualification was confirmed, captain Sikandar Raza insisted the achievement is merely the first paragraph of a lengthier tale his team intends to write. “The fact that we’ve qualified for the Super 8s hasn’t changed the ultimate goal that we set out for,” he said. “Like I said, it’s just a tick in the box, but we have a lot of other goals to achieve—and everybody loves an underdog story, don’t they?”

Raza, ever the realist, traced Zimbabwe’s route to this stage back to the sub-regional qualifiers that many casual observers never noticed. “I’ll take you back when we played the sub-regional qualifiers B, and we played Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and all those teams,” he recalled. “I remember I stood up to my troops and I said, we are in this position—or in this mess, as you want to call it—because of us. There’s no one else to blame. And only us that would get this mess clear, and only us can get it out of it. So what are we gonna do about it?” The answer was a clean sweep: Zimbabwe won the sub-regional phase, then the regional final, and finally the global qualifier to earn their place in the main draw.

Now the task becomes steeper. Zimbabwe will slot into a Super 8 pool that features defending champions India, last edition’s runners-up South Africa, and two-time champions West Indies. A top-two finish is required to keep semi-final dreams alive.

Preparation, Raza stressed, is already under way. “Myself and the coach will sit down. We watched Sri Lanka in the last three games as well. We’re going to have the data on them and we try and put our best foot forward and try and win that game. That is the whole point of us being here,” he said, looking ahead to Thursday’s final group-stage encounter against co-hosts Sri Lanka at R. Premadasa Stadium.

Weather and surface variations figure prominently in Zimbabwe’s planning. “Every condition we find ourselves in, if we can find a day or two to train, I think we’ll sum up the conditions really well and hopefully make those plans,” Raza explained. “One thing you can’t fight is the weather and conditions. So we try and learn those conditions—if we can have two, three training days in a particular city, wherever we’re going to.”

For a side that began its campaign far from the spotlight, the next chapter will be written under the glare of global expectations. Yet Raza and his squad appear determined to keep embracing the role that has carried them this far. After all, as their captain reminded the world, everybody loves an underdog story.