ZIMBABWE captain Sikandar Raza is happy to be back in the national fold ahead of today's T20 Tri Series against South Africa at Harare Sports Club.
Raza reminded fans of the good work the Chevrons have done in the recent past, upsetting quality opposition.
The Triangular Series, which features New Zealand, promises to be exciting, with all sides looking to put up a good show.
"They are very good sides. They have come to us, and we're going to try and play a really good brand of cricket as well. We're going to have exciting games," Raza said at the pre-series Press conference.
Raza expressed satisfaction with the preparations his side has undergone.
"The preparations have gone well. We've had three very good training sessions. Guys have done what was asked of them. Good energy," he said.
While admitting the tough battle in the recent two-Test match series against South Africa, Raza is determined to put up a good show in the shorter version of the game.
"I know we've had two very tough Test matches, but hopefully the guys have taken something out of those Test matches positively. We try to put those demons of Test cricket behind because the last time Zimbabwe was playing T20 cricket, we won the series," he said, referring to the February home series against Ireland.
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The star all-rounder called on fans to remember the good things Zimbabwe has done in T20 colours.
"So you've got to remember those good things that Zimbabwe has done in T20 colours. Hopefully, we can build up on that as well," added Raza.
Meanwhile, South Africa's stand-in T20I captain, Reeza Hendricks, said his team would approach the series with the same mindset and intensity to win, having drawn inspiration from their World Test Championship final appearance.
"It's been great. All of us took a lot of inspiration from the World Test Championship final. I don't think many people have a chance to even get to the final and certainly not in the final. If you look at it, it speaks a lot of what we stand for and try to represent as South Africans," said Hendricks.
"The resilience and the proud sporting nation as a whole. People expect results from us and that sort of drives guys to perform seemingly above levels that other people think are possible. We definitely spoke about that in the squad but for us the chat has been really important to refocus.
"It's a different format, it's a different challenge lying ahead now. The prep has been really good. Obviously the guys had some time in the Test. We had a good camp in Pretoria, the guys who came in. Really good camp there and the last two days the guys have been on point. I felt that we would be ready to play today already (yesterday) but that's always a good position to be in."
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner acknowledged the quality of the opposition.
"We know how good both these sides are in this competition. In the back of your mind, you're thinking further ahead to India and Sri Lanka. Before that, we've got a lot of games at home as well," Santner said.
"You want to prove yourself in different conditions. Zimbabwe here is going to play differently to what it's going to be back in New Zealand, to potentially what we could face in India as well. Finding the right combinations and the right times for those major events."
The series opener between hosts Zimbabwe and South Africa is scheduled to kick off at 1pm at Harare Sports Club.
