WARRIORS gaffer Zdravko “Loga” Logarusic has defended the inclusion of Ovidy Karuru (pictured) in his 24-man provisional Warriors squad for the back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the reigning champions Algeria in a week’s time. BY TERRY MADYAUTA Karuru is currently unattached after he parted ways with South Africa’s DStv premiership side Stellenbosch under unclear circumstances, but Logarusic is optimistic the midfielder will add more impetus to his arsenal amid question marks over his inclusion. Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Logarusic said Karuru’s previous exploits for the Warriors helped him earn a spot in the provisional squad, admitting that he was charmed by his commitment. “When we made the squad, we did not know where Ovidy was and we made the squad not knowing whether they were changing clubs or not. I spoke to him and he showed commitment, saying that he was working. He also told me that he was not injured,” Loga said. “When I talked to my assistants, they told me he was one of the best players when the Warriors played against Botswana and Zambia. That means he didn’t disappoint when he played for the country last time. “For the moment if Ovidy does not have a club, I think that’s part of this sport and in the future he will still be part of this sport. Those in South Africa have only played two games that means if he did not play the last two games we should not chase him away especially considering that he impressed in the previous games. He should be part of this squad because eventually, we will have 23 players to travel. We know our 15 players, but the other seven, we have to think about the future. “We have King Nadolo there because we also have the Chan [African Nations Championship] and those boys should be comfortable to avoid them relaxing. We must give them a chance.” Assistant coach Llyod Chitembwe also stood by their decision affirming that Karuru will help the squad grind a positive result. “The whole idea on Ovidy is that we are trying to come up with a team that is good enough to give us what we can expect, a team that is good enough to represent the country,” said Chitembwe. “I think all these years, Ovidy has played an important part within the set-up and one thing which is undisputed is that he is a quality player. He proved against Botswana when we played them at the National Sports Stadium. He equally proved this when we played away to Zambia. “The point here is that he is unattached, he is neither here nor there, the South African league is still in its infancy and they have just played two games. I am sure he deserves a chance, let’s give the coach a chance to assess the player’s fitness. I am sure he has the intelligence to play and give us what we want.” While Karuru’s inclusion has been questioned, perhaps the other selection question mark is the inclusion of Tendai Darikwa who has not been having game time at his England Championship side Nottingham forest. Darikwa was injured just before the 2019-2020 season started and has been on the side