Team Preview | ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup | Zimbabwe
Written By: Jeet Vachharajani & Ritwika Dhar
Date: 17-01-2023
Picture Courtesy: Cricket Queens
FIXTURES:
Zimbabwe is placed in Group B alongside Rwanda, Pakistan, & England.
SQUAD:
Zimbabwe has 2 players with experience of having played senior cricket. Kelis Ndhlovu (15 caps) & Michelle Mavunga (5 caps).
RECENT FORM:
As a full-member nation, Zimbabwe automatically qualified for this tournament in what was the first experience for any women's team in an ICC World Cup. The Zimbabwe U-19s were in India for a 3-week training camp to prepare for the big event.
Zimbabwe enters the main tournament after having their confidence shot massively. They lost an unofficial warmup game to Indonesia, then an official game to them & another warm-up loss to the West Indies.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Kelis Ndhlovu: The skipper of the U-19 side is the most important player to decide the fortunes of her team. She has played 15 international games at the senior level and adds a lot of value as a left-handed batter & spinner. The tall spinner recently caused a lot of problems for the South African emerging players in a T20 series as she was regularly amongst wickets.
Olinda Chare: The right-arm off-spinner will pose a threat in this tournament. One strong observation across women's cricket in any part of the world is the effectiveness of a certain type of off-spinners & Chare checks that box perfectly with the kind of variations she has got.
Chipo Moyo: Zimbabwe has several tall pacers in their side and Chopo Moyo is one of them. The tall lanky pacer looks to pitch the ball up and her yorkers could be a very potent option. She generally looks to shape the ball back in & her high release could actually cause some problems for the batters who aren't used to it.
PREDICTIONS:
Zimbabwe vs. Rwanda will be a grudge match and whoever takes the win shall have a higher chance of going through to the Super 6s. However, with Zimbabwe having a team low in confidence, their chances look lesser as compared to the other teams.