Barring a miracle, their trip to India will be brief.

The besieged African side, still sitting out Test matches, have to play the qualifying tournament at the event with matches against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh with just two sides making the latter stages.

They go into the competition on the back of a 3-0 defeat by South Africa, a series which finished with their neighbours racking up 418 in Potchefstroom, only the fourth time 400 has been made in a one-day international.

But Zimbabwe skipper Prosper Utseya, just 21 years old, is looking on the bright side buoyed by a 3-2 win over Bangladesh earlier in the year.

"The good thing about our team is that the average age is around 21, so we're all learning. I've played with the guys for a long time, most of them since high school, so it's not that difficult for me to get respect. We're all young, we do well together, so respect comes along," said off-spinner Utseya, who has already played 47 one-dayers.

He is his team's second most experienced player; only wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor, with 50 matches, has played more one-dayers.

That win over Bangladesh was Zimbabwe's first series triumph since November 2001.

"That really boosted the morale of the guys," said the captain who was thrown into the hotseat in the wake of the bitter split in the game in Zimbabwe which saw most of the white players in the squad initially purged.

"Now we're looking to play Test cricket, and if we can do that soon, it would be great. At the moment, the guys are excited and confident. They're starting to believe they can win rather than just competing every time. They're starting to believe more in themselves."

Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran believes his young team will not be humiliated.