How Richard Ngarava Found His Rhythm as Zimbabwe’s Pace Spearhead

Richard Ngarava has become a go-to death bowler for Zimbabwe during the last few years. He has performed exceptionally well at the international level since making his debut in 2017. He is one of those bowlers who is tall and fast, making him a highly valuable commodity in the Zimbabwe lineup. When asked how Ngarava maintains his fitness and developed himself into a tall, fast bowler, he credited his diet as the key factor behind his success.

"Anyone who asks me how I got tall, I tell them I only ate vegetables,” said Richard Ngarava.

Zimbabwe has recently qualified for next year’s Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. He played a pivotal role in the bowling department that gave Zimbabwe an edge over other teams in the qualification round. Ngarava’s fitness was evident throughout the matches, as he consistently bowled at high speeds in every game.

"I put myself on a diet, and I don't even know why I did it. At that time I was a batter and I bowled a bit of spin, but in Grade Nine everything just changed. For close to four years, I was on a diet, and I made sure I didn't miss any gym sessions. As a young boy, I loved pizza and fried chicken, but I cut those out and told myself I am going to eat fruits and vegetables, and drink water only. That's when I became tall," said Richard Ngarava.

The first time Ngarava came to international attention was during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. It was an incident that sparked debate about the spirit of cricket. The West Indian bowler, Keemo Paul, ran out Ngarava at the non-striker’s end when Zimbabwe needed just three runs to win. The incident not only made Ngarava unhappy, but also the whole dressing room, which was hoping to get a win in that match.

"When it happened, I thought it was a ruse. I was not really happy when I walked off the field, and everyone else was not happy in the dressing room. We later understood that it was part of the game. But what I didn't like about the situation was, there was no warning from anyone," said Richard Ngarava.

During the last few years, Richard Ngarava has elevated his bowling skills to a new level. Earlier, he was only considered an opening bowler, however, now he enjoys bowling in the death overs as well. Due to that, he has added many new bowling skills, such as yorkers, short balls, and others.

"I wanted to be the best death bowler in the team. But I ended up developing more skills as I played more games. I used to enjoy just bowling yorkers and short balls, but I've now added some other skills to my game." said Richard Ngarava.

Talking more about the bowling enhancements, the Zimbabwean bowler said that he enjoys bowling with a wobbly seam when the ball is rough. It is a skill he developed under Charl Langeveldt, who was appointed to the Zimbabwe setup last year.

"The wobble seam has done so much for me. Sometimes you don't really know what the ball is going to do [with a wobbly seam], but I just want to target that fifth-stump line or fourth-stump line and whatever the ball is going to do there, I'm quite happy with it.” said Richard Ngarava.

When asked about the plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2026, Ngarva said that he is super excited for that tournament. He’s hopeful Zimbabwe can produce something special at the World Cup to make their fans back home proud.

"I can't wait to be on that plane to India and Sri Lanka and then also play the 50-over World Cup, and hopefully we will do something for the fans," added Richard Ngarava.

Zimbabwe has recently qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup by winning the Africa qualifiers. They are hopeful to carry the same momentum to the main event, in which many top-ranked teams will participate to showcase their evolving T20I firepower.