A blessing from home: ‘Older and wiser’ Flower turns to Muzarabani for the fifth time

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO

HARARE – Zimbabwe lies in the heart and soul of Andy Flower, one of the country’s greatest ever sportsmen.

Even during a lengthy self-imposed exile from the country, which he has since emerged out of, the man widely regarded as Zimbabwe’s finest cricket player of all time never forgot his roots.

This week, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Indian Premier League team coached by Flower, announced it had signed Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani for the final stages of the 2025 IPL season.

28-year-old Muzarabani – who is currently in the UK for the historic Test match between Zimbabwe and England beginning Thursday – will replace South African bowler Lungi Ngidi who will leave the IPL for the Proteas' build-up to the World Test Championship final.

This will be the fifth time inside four years that ex-Zimbabwe captain Flower has worked with Muzarabani in franchise T20 cricket in Asia and on all occasions, the former wicketkeeper-batsman has been instrumental in the acquisition of the bowler.

Muzarabani was first signed by Multan Sultans for the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL) following his outstanding bowling for Zimbabwe on a white-ball tour of Pakistan at the end of 2020.

In a pre-match team meeting to send off a departing player and welcoming Muzaranani to the Sultans squad, head coach Flower warmly introduced the gangly quick.

‘It gives me great pleasure to have a fellow Zimbabwean in the squad, but also initially to watch your young career,” Flower addressed Muzarabani in June 2021 to a round of applause from the Sultans players.

“It’s nice that you had a great start against Pakistan (on the 2020 tour with Zimbabwe), well done on that and very good luck today, mate.”

Sultans won the PSL title that year, with Muzarabani playing as significant role by taking 10 wickets in the six matches he played. This cemented Muzarabani’s relationship with Flower and the franchise – he was duly retained for the 2022 season in which Sultans finished runners-up to the new champions Lahore Qalandars.

In the same year, Flower – now head coach of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL – negotiated for the signing of Muzarabani although only as a net bowler.

Last year, the now familiar Zimbabwean-coach-and-player combination moved to the United Arab Emirates when Muzarabani joined ILT20 side Gulf Giants under Flower’s stewardship.

We’re in 2025, and Flower is back again for his blessing from home.

RCB have qualified for the IPL play-offs, which start on 29 May. With Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood doubtful due to injury, Flower & Co will not hesitate to give Muzarabani a run.

Andy Flower was appointed coach of IPL team RCB coach in August 2023.

Muzarabani is of course a good player, and an even better individual. On top of international cricket, he has played in the Caribbean Premier League and the PSL, claiming 127 wickets in 118 T20s with an economy rate of 7.24. With these kind of stats, he will naturally get the attention of quite a lot of the other coaches and teams in this format across the world.

But what you just can’t ignore is the hand of Flower in Muzarabani’s engagements so far, and the growing bromance between the two Zimbabweans despite a wide age and era gap.

There is no doubt Flower will desperately want to see Muzarabani do well in this business end of the IPL, if he gets a chance, just for a feel-good story for their troubled homeland.

Flower however demonstrates extraordinary humility in these efforts of his to uplift cricketers from Zimbabwe, and in his show of loyalty to the country in all its long-standing faults and frailties.

Just like he used to do as a player. In his pomp, in 2000 and 2001, Flower averaged 80.38 and 89.90 respectively in Test cricket. On a tour of India, where he scored a famous undefeated 232 to save a Test match for Zimbabwe, he amassed 540 runs in the two-match contest.

During that period, Flower hit seven consecutive half-centuries, a feat that saw him equal the record of West Indies superstar Sir Everton Weekes.  

In 2001 he cracked 142 and an unbeaten 199 against South Africa, the first keeper-batter to smash tons in the same Test.

At the end of 2001, Flower rose to become the number 1 ranked Test batsman in the world ahead of such greats of the game as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and others.

Asked by the Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine to describe the feeling of being the best on the planet, Flower was typically unassuming about it.

He meekly replied: “It’s only after I looked at the other names on that list, did I realise what illustrious company it is for a little old Zimbabwean to be in.”

Blessing Muzarabani posing with the PSL trophy in 2021.

That “little old Zimbabwean” was just 33 years old at the time. He’s now 57, an even older and wiser man for Muzarabani to continue learning from.  

*This website is in partnership with Africabet. Please place your bets on the link below:

https://www.africabet.com/en/