The Sunday Mail
Brighton Zhawi
Roy Kaia is once again the toast of town and is ready for another dance with the Chevrons.
Calls for the rhumba-loving cricketer to be included in the Zimbabwe Cricket squad to face Pakistan keep getting louder with each passing day.
He has, however, left it all in the hands of the selectors.
The Logan Cup and National Premier League titles should put him in good standing.
But who is Roy Kaia?
Kaia made his international debut during Zimbabwe’s historic tour of Pakistan in 2015, featuring in the abandoned third One Day International.
In his debut, he neither bowled nor batted as the game was called off due to bad weather. In that game, Zimbabwe made a formidable start in pursuit of Pakistan’s 296 for nine, before the game, which was played at the Gaddafi Stadium, went through a catalogue of delays that prevented it from progressing beyond the ninth over of the second innings.
Since then, Kaia has not received a call-up for national duty.
However, his team, Rocks, were crowned champions of the Logan Cup — Zimbabwe’s first-class cricket competition.
The 29-year-old was crowned the Man of the Series, and this is on top of finishing as the tournament’s top run-getter with 374 runs from four innings.
He was also crowned the best bowler, finishing with 12 wickets.
“I feel very honoured to be crowned man of the tournament,” said Kaia, who is also the reigning National Premier League MVP.
He is aware of fans calling for his inclusion in the Chevrons squad, to which he says: “I have to leave it to the selectors if I get picked. I have been performing every season; I guess luck has not been on my side.”
Before the start of the 2019/20 domestic cricket season, Kaia had an option to skip the season and play club cricket in New Zealand.
He opted to try once more, perhaps as a leap of faith.
“I believe it was God’s call to play one more season in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Sadly, the 2020/21 season was disrupted by the pandemic, but during the lockdown, Roy and his younger brother and Rocks’ teammate, Innocent, remained focused.
“Truly speaking, hard work pays. I have been working behind closed doors with my brother Innocent, and I wasn’t shocked with the way we performed,” he said of Innocent, who finished as the Logan Cup’s second-highest run-scorer with 368 runs from four innings.
“I wasn’t surprised (by our performance) because we had put so many hours into training,” added Kaia.
With two five-wicket hauls in the season, he could be more than a part-timer.
“As a batting all-rounder, I understand how to bowl in certain situations using different lengths and variations.”
Another feather to his colourful cap is a fourth consecutive Logan Cup title, a feat he shares with Rocks’ coach Shepherd Makunura, teammates William Mashinge and Innocent Kaia.
All are former Mountaineers, where they won three consecutive titles.
“I am very impressed with the way the boys played throughout the tournament; we played as a team, and most of the credit goes to our coaches Stanley Chioza and Shepherd.”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what Kaia wants next.
When he scored his century against Rhinos, he pointed to his bat and made a “talking” gesture with his batting glove.
Questioned over said incident, the 29-year-old retorted: “It was a sign to say let the bat talk, and not the mouth. Statistics don’t lie.”
