Beating Bangladesh would be a ‘great memory to take back home’, says Raza

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said beating Bangladesh in the five-match T20I series, starting on Friday, would be a "great memory to take back home".

Zimbabwe, although missing out on a World Cup spot, will be quietly confident after beating Sri Lanka in a T20I earlier this year. 

"I think we are fairly evenly matched and I think it will be a competitive series. I just hope it's an entertaining series and inshallah it will be. And the last thing you want fans to have is a boring series that they do not enjoy. But if you look at our history, the majority of the time, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have played very entertaining cricket. And it will remain the same, Inshallah," their captain Sikandar Raza said. 

On the prospect of beating Bangladesh, Raza said, "It would be a great memory to take back home."

All-rounder Raza, now a globetrotting T20 star, has played a lot of domestic cricket in Bangladesh, especially in the Dhaka Premier League and the franchise-based Bangladesh Premier League. He has been part of a regional T20 competition as well.

"I used to come to Bangladesh very often. Unfortunately, or fortunately, our fixtures and my life did not allow me to be in Bangladesh often. I don't know what life has got in place for me for the future. If I'm in Bangladesh for the last time, I wanted my wife, my daughter, who's also here, and my son, to experience the love, the hospitality that I have received from Bangladeshi people over the years that I've been to Bangladesh," he said. 

"My first ever franchise gig was given to me by Bangladesh, which was Dhaka Premier League. My second gig was also given to me by Bangladesh, which was BPL. My debut was against Bangladesh and Bangladesh has been a very good friend to Zimbabwe. We have hosted you guys and you guys have hosted us on a very regular basis. So, a lot of my career findings and growth for me as an individual and as a player has been thankful to, has been due to the tours that I have played against Bangladesh or the domestic tournaments I've played in Bangladesh."

"Alhamdulillah, I've played three BPLs and I have played three DPLs now. So, I just don't know if I'll be back or not. So, I thought it would be a great time for my family to experience the love, hospitality, the care Bangladeshi people and the board and everybody around me has given me. I wanted them to experience it at least once. So, Alhamdulillah, they're happy, they're loving being in Bangladesh and yeah, it's going really well. Thank you."

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh 2-1 in the last T20I series featuring the two sides and the visitors will be quietly confident this time too.