Emotional Masakadza not thinking too far ahead after heroic swansong

Masakadza, who played 38 Tests, 209 one-day internationals and 66 T20 internationals said he was leaving with no bitterness.

Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza said that he could not hold back the tears when announcing to his players that Friday’s match against Afghanistan would be his last in internationals.

The 36-year-old was given a guard of honour by both sides as he came in to bat in Chittagong and then hit 71 off 42 balls to take Zimbabwe to an impressive seven-wicket victory – their first over Afghanistan – in the Twenty20 match.

#5thT20I | INNINGS BREAK: @ACBofficials 155-8 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 61, Hazratullah Zazai 31, Shafiqullah 16; Chris Mpofu 4/30, Tino Mutombodzi 2/18, Kyle Jarvis 1/27) #ZIMvAFG pic.twitter.com/APxsOArEVx

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) September 20, 2019

Masakadza ended his 18-year international career with a blistering five sixes and four fours. “Obviously it was super special. To lead the team to the win was really special,” he said.

READ: Masakadza stars in his farewell match as Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan

Masakadza, who has played a key role in Zimbabwe’s faltering progress in international cricket since making his debut in 2001, acknowledged the emotions got the better of him before the game had even started.

“I started tearing a little bit in the morning trying to get through the team talk with the boys,” he said.

“I am not someone who wears his heart on his sleeve but I think this is the one thing that brought a few emotions out of me. Even when I tried to tell the guys and the team before I made the official announcement, I barely got through three sentences so it’s been a really emotional time for me,” he said.

#5thT20I | WICKET: Masakadza c Mohammad Nabi b Dawlat Zadran 71 (42 balls, 4×4, 5×6). @ZimCricketv 110-2 (12.5 overs) require another 46 runs with 8 wickets and 43 balls remaining #ZIMvAFG #ThankYouHami pic.twitter.com/9Mts6CYIsv

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) September 20, 2019

About life after retirement, Masakadza said he’s not looking too far ahead. “Not really the first thing that comes to the mind. Obviously taking a little bit of rest and then the domestic season should be starting soon. So just concentrate on that for now and not set too much for the future,” he concluded.

Masakadza set a world record on his debut against the West Indies when he became the youngest Test century scorer at 17 years and 254 days. His record survived barely three months before being broken by Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful.

ALSO READ: ‘Zimbabwe focused on upcoming T20 tournament despite ICC suspension’

He was also Zimbabwe’s first black player to score a first-class century.

Sorry there was a spelling error. Well played #HamiltonMasakadza https://t.co/WZVu9FZwSP

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 21, 2019

Masakadza later took a three-year break in his international career to pursue studies, and returned with the national team in turmoil over player disputes with the national federation.

The troubles affected his career and he had to wait until 2011 to score his second Test century, against Bangladesh, after Zimbabwe ended a five-year self-exile from Test cricket.

Masakadza, who played 38 Tests, 209 one-day internationals and 66 T20 internationals said he was leaving with no bitterness.

#5thT20I | RESULT: @ZimCricketv (156-3 in 19.3 overs – Masakadza 71, Chakabva 39, Williams 21*; Mujeeb 2/28, Dawlat 1/27) beat @ACBofficials (155-8 in 20 overs – Gurbaz 61, Zazai 31, Shafiqullah 16; Mpofu 4/30, Mutombodzi 2/18, Jarvis 1/27) by 7 wickets #ZIMvAFG #ThankYouHami pic.twitter.com/x3GJ9Tc6Xw

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) September 20, 2019

“I have been going through a lot of emotions today, but regret is not one of them. I am really thankful, thankful to the board for giving me the chance to play as long as I have,” he said.

Friday’s game was Zimbabwe’s last in the three-nation series. Bangladesh will play Afghanistan in the final on Tuesday.