India’s tour to Zimbabwe is much more than a series of ODIs and T20Is for the hosts. According to their coach, Dave Whatmore, it is an opportunity for a new beginning for Zimbabwe to host more top-class teams and play more international cricket.
“We are very happy to have India here because it indicates the beginning of a number of matches in Harare and Zimbabwe, something that was missing earlier,” Whatmore said on the eve of the first ODI at Harare Sports Club. “It is looking pretty good now and looks like a full member’s fixtures.”
The touring Team India is devoid of various regular members including captain MS Dhoni and most of their established ODI batsmen. However, Whatmore believes the selected squad of 15 lacks no quality whatsoever.
“The opposition still has some good players, there is no doubt about that. There are a number of players in this Indian side who we know are dangerous without having the experience overtime,” Whatmore said. “The absence of the main players has presented some of the other players an opportunity to impress and we are sure they will be trying their best.”
Zimbabwe may not have many victories to show in the recent times but they have made the opponents work hard for their victories. For Whatmore, the next step for the team will be to cross that line between competing and winning and he has listed out the areas the team need to work on to achieve that.
“We are very aware that there is a gap between the rankings and also a gap between the games played internationally. We agree as a team that there are a certain key areas we need to get right and we are working towards it,” he said.
“Every team has their area-specific targets set and we have them too. With our bowling attack, we need to pick wickets regularly and we need to improve our fielding. We are working hard at them. If we do that and continue our good show with the bat, we will be very, very competitive.
“Our agenda is to begin to get together a winning combination, improve and get more confidence. We have shown that we are capable but we are not crossing the line. We know where we can improve and we are really trying to do so. Hopefully the results will show that in the next couple of weeks.”
