Sikandar Raza

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sikandar Raza

• Sikandar Raza is a Pakistan-born Zimbabwean cricketer.

• He developed an interest in cricket through his father and uncles, who once wanted to represent Pakistan in cricket.

• While he was in school, he wanted to become a fighter pilot. He was selected from 10,000 students to study at the Pakistan Air Force boarding school. However, he failed the Lens Opacity test in the final medical round.

• In 2002, he, along with his family, moved to Zimbabwe from Pakistan and there he started playing cricket at the amateur level. He gained so much popularity at the amateur level that the selectors of the Zimbabwe cricket team approached him to play for Zimbabwe’s national cricket team. However, he was of Pakistani nationality which was becoming a hindrance in his selection. So, in 2011, the Zimbabwe Government allotted him their citizenship.

  

• He has played in various cricket leagues such as Afghanistan Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, and Pakistan Premier League.

• In July 2014, Raza, along with Hamilton Masakzada, made a record for the highest opening partnership with 224 runs for Zimbabwe against Afghanistan at Queens Sports Club Ground, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Out of 224 runs, 141 runs were scored by Raza. He also made the record for the highest run scored by a Zimbabwean player in an ODI match.

  

• Raza has represented Zimbabwe against various countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.

• In 2017, he came into the limelight with the ODI series in which the Zimbabwe team won the series by 3-2 against Sri Lanka. Raza scored 27 (not out) and took 3 wickets for 21 runs in the last match of the series.

• In 2018, he received the Player of the Tournament award for scoring 319 runs and taking 15 wickets in the ODI World Cup Qualifiers. He completed his 100 ODI matches in March 2020.

  

• In April 2021, he started experiencing severe pain in his right arm which went worse with the passage of time. The doctors said that he had an infection in the bone marrow. Later, it was rumoured that he had cancer. However, the rumours turned out to be false.

• Except for England, he has played against all major ODI teams. As of 2022, he has won the Man of the Match title in ODI matches 9 times.

• In August 2022, his team won a 3-match series against Bangladesh in which he scored 135 runs (not out) and 117 runs (not out) in 2 consecutive matches.

• As of 2022, in T20 cricket matches, he has played against all major teams except England and Australia.

 

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• Raza is the first player from Zimbabwe to score 3 centuries in ODI match run chases. As of 2022, he is the only player from Zimbabwe to score 2 consecutive centuries in ODI run chases. He is also the fourth Zimbabwean cricketer to score 3 centuries in ODI in a calendar year; he scored all three centuries in a single month. ^[6]Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack

  

• In August 2022, he was selected as the ICC ODI player of the month, becoming the first player from Zimbabwe to get the title. As of 2022, he is also the highest scorer from Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup, and Raza is the first player from Zimbabwe to score 600 runs in T20 cricket in a calendar year.

  

• Sikandar Raza is represented by Stem Sports and Lifestyle Management Agency.

• He is appointed as the brand ambassador of various brands like Splash Zimbabwe, Shrey Sports, The Country Club, and PUMA South Africa.

• He loves eating African Braai.