Ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe has appointed West Indies legend Courtney Walsh as its bowling consultant.

Walsh has already begun working with the squad, as Zimbabwe intensify their build-up to the global tournament, where they will feature in Group B alongside Australia, Ireland, Oman and Sri Lanka. They will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Oman at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on February 9.

One of the finest fast bowlers the game has produced, Walsh brings decades of experience, discipline, and cricketing intelligence to his new role. Reacting to his appointment, Walsh expressed enthusiasm about working with the Zimbabwe bowling unit and highlighted the team’s untapped potential.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to work with Zimbabwe and am really looking forward to the challenges ahead. I believe we have a very good chance if we execute our plans well, work together as a team and adapt to the conditions. From what I have seen, the combination of the bowling attack is impressive and there is a lot of potential within the squad,” Walsh said in a media release.

Zimbabwe Cricket Managing Director, Givemore Makoni said the decision to bring Walsh on board was aimed at enhancing the team’s technical expertise ahead of the showpiece event. The upcoming edition marks Zimbabwe’s return to the T20 World Cup after missing out on the 2024 tournament, having failed to qualify through the Africa Qualifier in 2023. 

This time, however, the African side faced no such setback, securing qualification via the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2025 alongside Namibia. Widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game, Walsh represented the West Indies between 1984 and 2001, claiming 519 wickets in 132 Test matches and becoming the first bowler to reach the milestone of 500 Test wickets.

Since retiring, the Jamaican has held several high-profile coaching roles, including serving as head coach of the West Indies women’s team and as a specialist bowling coach for Bangladesh’s men’s side. In April 2024, he was also appointed technical consultant to the Zimbabwe women’s national team.