Innocent Kaia

The youngest of the three Kaia brothers - Knowledge and Roy the others - to play first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, Innocent Kaia toiled for close to eight years in the domestic circuit before getting a chance to play international cricket. A top-order batter and part-time legspinner, Kaia played a solitary game for the Zimbabwe Under-19s against South Africa Under-19s in 2010 but it took him close to three-and-a-half years to make his List A debut, for Southern Rocks against Mid West Rhinos in December 2013.

Kaia then made his first-class debut two months later and scored 80 against Mashonaland Eagles in the Logan Cup. He played just one season for Rocks before moving to Mountaineers where he stayed till the 2018-19 season. In just his second game for them, Kaia recorded his maiden first-class century. He then returned to Rocks at the start of the 2020-21 season.

Kaia made his T20I debut against Scotland in Edinburgh in September 2021 before getting his ODI cap a few months later in June 2022 against Afghanistan. He recorded a half-century in just his second ODI and then went on to score his maiden international century against Bangladesh in his fourth ODI innings. During that game in Harare, he added a 192-run stand with Sikandar Raza for the fourth wicket, breaking a 25-year-old partnership record for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh.

Kaia then made his Test debut against West Indies in Bulawayo and scored a fluent 67 in his first outing.