Sikandar Raza says WTC hope will not stop planned retirement after 2027 World Cup
Sikandar Raza said on 2026-10-15, during a media interaction hosted by mobile gaming platform Sixer Cricket, that Zimbabwe's potential entry into the World Test Championship for the 2027-30 cycle will not alter his decision to retire after next year's ODI World Cup in Africa. The 40-year-old, who is Zimbabwe's ODI and T20I captain, insisted he will end his international career at the home tournament the country will co-host with South Africa and Namibia.
Raza described playing in a home World Cup as a personal blessing and spoke of finishing his career at that event. "The fact that I am coming to the end of my career as well, and to have an opportunity to play a home World Cup is certainly a blessing for me from a personal point of view," he said. "Every cricketer dreams of having retired or to retire after playing a cricketing World Cup," he added.
Asked whether Zimbabwe's potential inclusion in the WTC might prompt a change of plan, Raza firmly rejected the idea. "Would I be tempted? No, I will not be tempted. I have come to peace with the decisions that I am making in life. "I'll not be a guy who will, when the time comes, call it off and then say, 'I'm taking my retirement back.' It will not happen. That's not me," he said.
Despite his retirement plans, Raza said he would support Zimbabwe joining the WTC and argued it could speed up the country's cricketing development. "If that happens, I will be the first guy who will be in support of that. If Zimbabwe is part of WTC, we might not be able to do well at the start, but one thing I do knowour cricketing growth eventually - not eventually, quickly - will go up. Our performances will get better, and not just in Test cricket," he said.
Raza credited Test cricket with shaping much of his development while acknowledging his limited appearances in the format. "A lot of my cricketing development the world has seen has come through Test cricket. I played, I think, eight to nine Test matches earlier on. I know I've only got 15 or 16 Test matches in total," he said.
On the challenge of securing a home advantage at an ICC-run tournament, Raza said Zimbabwe would try to maximise any fair edge but recognised the ICC's control over event operations. "We'll try our best to gain some home advantage, but for ICC events, it's very difficult because the ICC is in control of everything. "But yeah, we will try and take some advantage where we can. Fair advantage, that is," he said.
Raza also spoke about the launch of the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls and the prospect of hosting matches there. "We are really excited that our new stadium will be launched in the next few months. I do think we have fixtures there early next year as well. So, we are really looking forward to it," he said, and he noted the attractions Victoria Falls could offer visiting players and supporters.
Zimbabwe's scheduled World Cup fixture against India on October 24, 2027, will be the first World Cup match at the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls, and Raza has confirmed he intends to play through the 2027 ODI World Cup before retiring.
