Published: Jan 23, 2016, 10:26 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 23, 2016, 10:26 AM (IST)
Khulna: Elton Chigumbura has stepped down as Zimbabwe cricket captain following the 2-2 Twenty20 series draw in Bangladesh. All-rounder Chigumbura said yesterday “it’s the best time to leave it to the next guy to lead us.” Zimbabwe won the last two games to salvage a draw in Bangladesh. The 29-year-old Chigumbura said he still wanted to contribute to the team as a senior player. His leadership was heavily criticised when Zimbabwe lost 3-2 to minnow Afghanistan in their one-day international series late last year. Chigumbura’s resignation coincided with former captain Brendan Taylor saying he would consider returning to play for Zimbabwe after his contract with English county team Nottinghamshire expires. Taylor quit international cricket following last year’s World Cup to take up a three-year deal with Nottinghamshire. FULL SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, 4th T20I at Khulna
Zimbabwe have not been playing good cricket for long. Their performance last year against an associate team like Afghanistan was also poor. In the recently concluded T20I series, they lost the first two games but came back strongly and drew the series by winning the final two matches. Bangladesh, on the other hand has been playing good better cricket especially in the shorter versions of the game in the last two years. READ: Elton Chigumbura dismissed by Nathan McCullum against New Zealand in one-off T20I at Harare
Bangladesh’s performance in the series had forced former Sri Lanka cricketer Marvan Atapattu to say that they are at the top of their game. Atapattu, who stepped down as Sri Lanka’s coach last September, was with Zimbabwe as their batting consultant until the conclusion of the series against Bangladesh. “I will be here with these guys till the end of this series and try to work with Dav Whatmore, whom I know for years and help them tactically and technically in the coming days.”
