With Khama Billiat having missed out on a return to the Zimbabwe team that will face Bafana Bafana in June, it is now claimed the former Kaizer Chiefs star was considered for a call-up, but his failure to do one specific thing counted against him.
Following weeks of speculation in the Zimbabwean press, it has been confirmed that Billiat will not return to his national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa.
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The 33-year-old was reportedly in contention to make the squad after several impressive performances for his new club Yadah FC, but those hopes hit a brick wall when the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) announced its 23-man team on Wednesday.
A source close to ZIFA has reportedly revealed why the organisation eventually decided not to recall the pacy winger, who retired from international football in 2021.
"Of course, Khama Billiat was wanted in the Warriors squad," the source told Soccer24.
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"Everybody has seen how good he still is. He is a player of so much quality.
"However, the fact that he didn't publicly say he has come out of retirement made things difficult.
"Also, remember that the coach [Jairos Tapera] was close to signing Billiat [for Manica Diamonds] before the he eventually settled for Yadah, so it's obvious he knows how good the player is.
"Those close to him tried to persuade him to even just post on social media that he is coming out of retirement, but he refused.
"Those close to him said he [Billiat] was interested in playing for the Warriors again, but what he didn't want was the possibility of announcing that he was coming out of retirement and then going on to miss out on the squad."
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