Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza was asked for his opinion on who, according to him, is the second best T20I team in Asia. The star all-rounder gave a cold reply and claimed that they are the second best team in Africa and that is all they care about.
Despite so many problems, Pakistan is hosting Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for a triangular series starting from November 18. Zimbabwe were called on board after Afghanistan, the first squad finalized for the series, withdrew due to a series of attacks on their territory.
Zimbabwe holds a unique record in the shortest format of the game, as they defeated Pakistan in the inaugural T20 World Cup game. Given his unique record, many tricky questions have been asked to Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza.
Sikandar Raza criticized Pakistan in press conference
At the press conference before the tri-series, the Zimbabwe captain was asked by a Pakistani journalist who, according to him, is the second best T20I team in Asia.
On this question, Sikandar Raza, who was all ears by now, simply claimed, “I will just tell you this, since I am in my national jersey now, Zimbabwe is the second best team in Africa. I don’t care who is the second best team in Asia.”
“I will address it when I am not in the national jersey. Right now, all my attention and focus is on Zimbabwe; this is a press conference for the Zimbabwe captain, and everything I will do and answer is for Zimbabwe.”
He concluded, “I personally don’t care who is the second, third, fourth or tenth best team in Asia. We are the second best team in Africa and we want to challenge the best team in Africa, which is South Africa, as often as we are given the opportunity.”
Sikandar Raza insults Pakistan by asking who is the second best team in Asia
“I will just tell you that Zimbabwe is the second best team in Africa and I will not tell you who is the first or second best team in Asia (laughs).
This may be upsetting to you because I can read the room, you guys… pic.twitter.com/4GW1Y5iohZ
– Rajeev (@Rajeev1841) 18 November 2025
Ahead of the tri-series, Raza silenced Pakistani journalists by saying, “It may be disappointing for you… but not for me.”
The second question that the Pakistani reporter put to the captain was whether it would be disappointing for Zimbabwe to qualify for the tri-series finals, or would it be a completely normal thing.
“It may be disappointing for you, because I can read the room; you guys are not giving us too many chances to reach the final. For you guys, Zimbabwe beating Pakistan will be a disappointment, but not for me,” said Sikandar Raza, who had given Zimbabwe great chances to qualify for the final.
Zimbabwe had also defeated the Sri Lankan team during their tour of Zimbabwe just before the Asia Cup this year. This boosts their confidence against these two teams and they see their chances of reaching the finals.
Pakistan beats Zimbabwe to earn its first points in tri-series
Zimbabwe did not put up any attractive performances with the bat, yet some of their batsmen made interesting contributions as they chased down the target of 148 runs against the Men in Green at home. Brian Bennett, Tadivanashe Marumani and Sikandar Raza were the favorites among the batsmen.
For Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman came in the lower order and scored 44 runs. This innings was the anchor that held Pakistan’s innings together after a catastrophic collapse of their top order, with Babar Azam out for a duck and Salman Agha out cheaply for just 1 run.
Player of the match Mohammad Nawaz stunned with his brilliant performance with bat and ball to help them win a comfortable victory. Sikandar Raza’s team will face Sri Lanka in the second match of the triangular series.
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