The last 30 days have been eventful for the Zimbabwe men's cricket team. Defeating Papua New Guinea by 27 runs in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers at home saw them book their place in the mega event for the sixth time. But most importantly, the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia will mark Zimbabwe's first appearance in a mega event since 2016.
That's not all. The Chevrons, as they are called, defeated Bangladesh 2-1 to win their first-ever bilateral T20I series over a higher-ranked side. Subsequently, they clinched the ODI series against them 2-1, cheered on by a full house of home supporters.
Left-handed middle-order batter Ryan Burl was one of the main architects in Zimbabwe's T20I series win over Bangladesh at Harare. From 76/6, Burl slammed 34 runs off Nasum Ahmed in the 15th over, equalling the record for the second-most runs hit in an over in T20I cricket. He eventually made 54 and shared a crucial stand of 79 with Luke Jongwe to set the base for a memorable Zimbabwe victory.
Burl, who had missed the 2016 series against India due to a tear in his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in the left knee, is excited about the prospect of playing against the KL Rahul-led side.
He spoke to IANS about the upcoming ODI series against India, influence of head coach Dave Houghton on Zimbabwe's turnaround and what qualifying for the T20 World Cup means for the side.
On being asked how he looks at upcoming ODI series against India after T20 World Cup qualification, and winning the T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh, the batsman said, "We would like to try and win the series. How we do that, I don't mind that as long as we get the wins. But it's India and one of the best teams in the world. They are not going to put up an easy fight; it's going to be difficult. Hopefully, with our home ground advantage, we can try and pull out a cat out of the hat and put out something special."
Speaking about his side, he said, "The team (Zimbabwe) is in an absolutely good space. It's probably the best environment in a changing room that I think I have ever been in a long time. The guys are just really, really happy that they are able to play with a lot of freedom, express themselves. Not to forget that there is inclusion of Lance Klusener as the batting coach.”