Picked eight batters to be more fearless: Sikandar Raza

Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza said they opted to play with eight batters to help their batting unit express themselves fearlessly, as they need to play with the mindset of putting up over 200 runs in T20 cricket.

Zimbabwe won the opening T20I against Bangladesh by 32 runs to take a 1-0 lead in Bulawayo.

"I feel world cricket has gone forward and Zimbabwe has been a good 160-170 team. If we don't challenge ourselves to get to 200, we'll be left behind," Raza said.

"So on a wicket that is 155 par, we got 171. The reason behind eight batters is that once you are set, you take somebody down and be more fearless but accountable."

"The whole idea is to play more fearless cricket to match world cricket intensity and see if we have upskilled ourselves as batters."

"Also, we have good all-rounders like Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Dion Myers, Brian Bennett who can bowl in T20s. I want to put ourselves under pressure to get the job done, creating more accountability and confidence."

Raza praised his three pacers and Brad Evans' batting growth.

"Richard Ngarava has been improving and puts his heart on the line. Blessing and Brad complement each other. It's those three working in tandem that make each other successful."

"With Brad, the skill was always there. He has put hours into batting and wants to be recognized as an all-rounder. He knows there is value in international and franchise cricket for a good all-rounder. His graph will keep going up."

Raza said he's happy there's still room for improvement despite the win.

"The beauty is we won by 30-odd runs but there's still room for improvement. That excites me for the next game. We're looking at Friday, then Sunday, and see where we get to."

"When you look too far ahead, you lose sight of what's in front of us. What's in front is getting better tomorrow and showcasing skills on Friday."