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

It was a three-and-a-half-hour party at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday. The match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe was a dead rubber, but fans didn’t disappoint, nor did the 2026 T20 World Cup “underdogs” — Zimbabwe.

There were around 30,000 Sri Lankans with drum bands in each of the stands cheering for the co-hosts. But there were also a handful of Zimbabwean fans clapping, shouting, dancing and making their presence felt whenever a Sri Lankan wicket fell or when

Sikandar Raza tonked long sixes into the stands.

Zimbabwe’s 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani says he has never played in front of such a big crowd. “It was really loud and that was my first experience actually.

It was really exciting and a bit nerve-racking,” he told reporters in the ICC mixed zone after his team’s thumping six-wicket win over Sri Lanka.

The atmosphere must have been intimidating for Zimbabwe cricketers, but they crossed the finish line. There was hardly any celebration after Brian Bennett hit the winning runs.

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

At the post-match presentation, Sikandar Raza told former Zimbabwe cricketer and commentator Pommie Mbangwa how everybody loves an underdog story.

Zimbabwe had already defeated two previous champions, Australia and Sri Lanka, in the group stage. In the Super Eight, they will lock horns against two-time champions West Indies and India, and South Africa, the runners-up of the previous edition.

Zimbabwe captain Raza calls his team underdogs, but by no means are they pushovers.

They are gaining momentum and have a skipper who knows a thing or two about chasing against the odds.

After humbling Sri Lanka, Raza vowed his side is not done; reaching the Super Eight is simply part of a larger goal to bring lasting recognition to cricket in his country.

“If we can win two out of three games, who knows what can happen. Everyone loves an underdog story,” said Raza, oozing confidence after conquering Colombo.

In a professional career spanning close to two decades, the 39-year-old

Raza has seen more dark days than shiny ones.

Raza’s journey from Sialkot in Pakistan to Zimbabwe was far from straightforward. It took him through unexpected detours that included dreams of becoming a pilot and earning a degree in computing from a university in Glasgow, before cricket finally took centre stage after his family moved to Africa.

After some sombre years in international cricket, followed by a life-threatening bone marrow infection in 2021, the all-rounder, now in the twilight of his career, has reinvented himself as a bonafide globetrotter across T20 leagues worldwide.

For Marumani, Raza is an inspirational figure whom everyone looks up to. “A person like Raz in our changing room, who’s played all around the world, who’s played more franchise leagues and who’s been in different changing rooms, I think that experience and that inspiration coming from him has played a really big role for everyone in our changing room,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe assistant coach Dion Ebrahim suggests the squad and coaching staff are in the presence of brilliance with Raza around.

“He is a global superstar. He is up there with the greats and he will go down as one of the greats. I’m personally pleased to be in the presence of brilliance,” he said.

When coaxed on what Raza brings to the dressing room, the former player added: “He brings all those superlatives. You could say the inspiration, the motivation, the passion. But what he does consistently is lead through his actions. He’s vocal in the dressing room, but people follow him because of the brilliance he performs with and his level of intensity.

He is meticulous in how he prepares and consistently tries to improve, and I think that’s what keeps him going at the level he’s operating at. ”

In a week’s time, Zimbabwe will be up against favourites India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

“I think rankings and every other measurement will state us as the underdogs, which is perfectly fine. When we came into the World Cup this year, we were definitely the underdogs in the group, and it’s a place we like to operate in,” said Ebrahim.

“The advantage of being underdogs is that we go into these games with very little pressure, while most of it sits with India, playing at home, in familiar conditions, in a format they have grown stronger in over time.

“Our biggest challenge will be ensuring we are not overwhelmed by the occasion, the crowd or the atmosphere, especially when India inevitably gain momentum. The confidence from today’s win, where we wrestled back momentum multiple times in front of a strong Sri Lankan crowd, helps.

“In terms of preparation and planning, we are comfortable that we have ticked the right boxes. T20 is a fickle format, often decided by a moment or two. We just need to keep performing at the level we know we are capable of, as we have over the last three games,” said the batting coach.

After missing out on the previous T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean, Zimbabwe were forced into sub-regional qualifiers against teams such as Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles and Gambia.

Defeats to Namibia and Uganda at the African finals in 2023 meant the world’s 11th-ranked side became the only Test nation to miss the 2024 event, pushing them to restart their next qualification cycle from the bottom in Kenya.

Australia, as joint hosts with New Zealand, are assured of a place at the 2028 T20 World Cup despite an early exit this year, their first group-stage elimination since 2009. Zimbabwe, in contrast, have already sealed qualification for 2028 by knocking Australia out and reaching the Super Eight, completing a remarkable turnaround after years of navigating the hard way through qualifiers.

Zimbabwe’s history at major ICC tournaments has been a rollercoaster. It dates back to their maiden 50-over World Cup appearance in 1983, when they announced themselves on the global stage by stunning Australia by 13 runs in the nation’s first-ever ODI.

More recently, Zimbabwe’s struggles at major tournaments have been stark. They failed to qualify for the 10-team ODI World Cup in England in 2019 for the first time in 36 years after losing to the UAE at a global qualifier hosted at home.

The setbacks continued as they missed the 2021 T20 World Cup following an ICC suspension over government interference, and then fell short again in the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup in India after home defeats to Sri Lanka and Scotland.

There were brief highs. Zimbabwe reached the Super Eight stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup for the first time and stunned Pakistan by one run in Perth. But a shock five-wicket loss to Uganda in 2023 marked a new low.

Sikandar Raza later said that humiliation triggered a shift in mindset, setting Zimbabwe on a new path that has now delivered their best showing at a major tournament since 1999, when they beat India and South Africa.

“I remember when we were told that we had to play the sub-regional Qualifier B in Kenya,” Raza said after his side secured their spot in the Super Eight with a washout against Ireland on Tuesday.

“I remember sitting down with the squad and saying either we feel sorry for ourselves and be ashamed or understand the reality.

The reality was that it was because of us that we were in this mess and only we could get ourselves out of it. We got together and worked towards a singular goal, which was to win the qualifiers, get to the World Cup and then write our own history and story.

“We all sat down and laid out a plan. Along the way, we knew we would have bad games and that a lot of criticism would come our way. But if we stayed true to our plan, kept trusting each other and created a better culture and environment for the team to thrive in, we would be fine. To see the results after almost two years is certainly very pleasing.”