Sikandar Raza is a Pakistan-born Zimbabwean cricket player who has made a name for himself as an allrounder. He has represented Zimbabwe in all formats of the game i.e. Tests, ODIs, and T20s. He has captained the team of Zimbabwe as well and played many significant innings which has helped Zimbabwe to win critical games. As he was born in Pakistan and impressed the Zimbabwe selectors with his performance in the domestic cricket of Zimbabwe, he was given citizenship so that he can play for the national team.
Wiki
Sikandar Raza (full name – Sikandar Raza Butt) was born on Thursday, 24 April 1986 (aged 36 years; as of 2022) in Sialkot, Pakistan. He studied at Pakistan Air Force boarding school in Lower Topa and wanted to be a fighter pilot. He was among the 60 students out 10,000 students who were selected to become fighter pilot. After studying there for three and half years, he appeared for his final medical. He failed in Lens Opacity test, which is critical for pilots when they are at a altitude. In 2002, his family moved to Zimbabwe and he started doing B.Sc in computer science at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, UK. In 2007, he moved to Zimbabwe and started playing cricket at semi-professional level, and he found that he is better at the game that he anticipated. He completed his graduation in 2009 and while he was already in his 20s, he started playing cricket very seriously and made waves in the domestic circuit of Zimbabwe circuit after giving magnificent performances. The selectors also took notice of him; however, his citizenship was becoming barrier so he was given citizenship in 2011 so that he can play for national team of Zimbabwe. Though, he could not become a fighter pilot, he regards himself as a fighter. He has played in Afghanistan Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Carribean Premier League and Pakistan Premier League.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 11″
Weight (approx.): 72 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
He belongs to Punjabi speaking Muslim family.
Parents & Siblings
His father is Tasadaq Hussian Raza, moved in 2002 to Zimbabwe from Japan. His father and 2 uncles also played cricket and wanted to represent Pakistan however his father moved to motor parts business. His mother name is unknown. Not much is known about his siblings; however, he has a younger brother named Taymoor Raza Butt.
Wife & Children
Not much is known about his wife; however, he has 2 children.
Sikandar Raza with his children
Religion/Religious Views
He is a Muslim.
Address
He lives in Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Jersey Number
He wears 24 number jersey.
Sikandar Raza jersey number 24
Stats
Batting Stats
Batting: Right side Batsman
Test Cricket Stats
Matches: 17
Runs: 1187
Balls Faced: 2152
Highest Score: 127
Average: 35.97
Strike Rate: 55.16
50s: 8
100s: 1
4s: 118
6s: 17
ODI Cricket Stats
Matches: 123
Runs: 3656
Balls Faced: 4340
Highest Score: 141
Average: 36.56
Strike Rate: 84.24
50s: 20
100s: 6
4s: 300
6s: 85
T20 Cricket Stats
Matches: 61
Runs: 1176
Balls Faced: 908
Highest Score: 87
Average: 21.38
Strike Rate: 129.52
50s: 6
100s: 0
4s: 92
6s: 44
Bowling and Fielding Stats
Bowling: Right Arm Off-Spinner
Test Cricket Stats
Matches: 17
Catches: 5
Most Catches in an innings: 1
Wickets: 34
Balls: 2657
Best Bowling in an innings: 113 runs / 7 wickets
Best Bowling in a match: 176 runs / 8 wickets
Average: 42.38
Economy: 3.25
Strike Rate: 78.15
ODI Cricket Stats
Matches: 123
Catches: 51
Most Catches in an innings: 3
Wickets: 70
Balls: 3830
Best Bowling in a match: 21 runs / 3 wickets
Average: 44.63
Economy: 4.89
Strike Rate: 54.71
T20 Cricket Stats
Matches: 61
Catches: 28
Most Catches in an innings: 3
Wickets: 33
Balls: 768
Best Bowling in a match: 8 runs / 4 wickets
Average: 27.82
Economy: 7.17
Strike Rate: 23.27
Career
Debut
Test Cricket
He debuted on 3 September 2013 against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club Stadium, Harare and scored 60 runs.
ODI Cricket
He debuted on 3 May 2013 against Bangladesh at Queens Sports Club Stadium, Bulawayo and scored 3 runs.
T20 Cricket
He debuted on 13 May 2013 against Bangladesh at Queens Sports Club Stadium, Bulawayo and scored 14 runs.
Test Cricket Career
He scored 60 runs on his debut; however, Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor made his entry and he was dropped from the team. He has played against Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. His best performances have been against Sri Lanka. He scored his highest score of 127 against Sri Lanka in July 2017 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has his best bowling performance of 7 wickets for 113 runs against Sri Lanka in January 2020 at Harare Sports Club Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe. He scored his maximum runs in a series, 243 runs against Bangladesh in the 2014 series played in Zimbabwe. He took maximum wickets in a series, 11 wickets against Sri Lanka in the 2019-20 series played in Zimbabwe.
Sikandar Raza (right) playing Test cricket
ODI Cricket Career
He has played against all major ODI teams except England. He has won Man of the Match awards 9 times in ODI cricket. His first career highlight was Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka, where Zimbabwe team won the series by 3-2. He played magnificently in the last match and scored 27 runs(not out) in the chase and also took 3 wickets for 21 runs. He was regarded as the hero after the win and his career took off. This series win was Zimbabwe’s first ODI series win against Sri Lanka and first 5-match series win away from home. He scored 319 runs and took 15 runs in 2018 ODI World Cup Qualifiers and was given Player of the Tournament award. When Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the 2019 ODI World Cup, he said that he was unhappy. In March 2020, he completed his 100 ODI matches. In August 2022, he also helped his team win 3 match series against Bangladesh in August 2022 and scored 135 runs (not out) and 117 runs (not out) in 2 consecutive matches.
Sikandar Raza playing against Bangladesh
T20 Cricket Career
He has played against all major team except England and Australia. He played magnificently in 2022 World cup qualifiers and guided his team to qualify for 2022 World Cup as he took 4 wickets for 8 runs against Netherlands in the final match of the tournament to win the match. He was awarded Man of the Match for his bowling performance. He also became Man of the tournament of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers 2022. In 2022, he scored 136 runs and took 3 wickets to help Zimbabwe to move to Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup held in Australia. He made his highest score, 82 runs in 48 balls against Ireland in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 to help his team win the match.
Sikandar Raza bowling in T20 World Cup 2022
Controversies
In a T20 match against Namibia in 2016, he was given out by LBW by umpire in the 16th over. He expressed his dissent towards the decision by showing his bat, used abusive words when going towards the dressing room and used abusive words again when entering the dressing room. He was fined 50 percent of his match fee and 2 demerit points after breaching ICC Code of Conduct Level 1.
Injury
In April 2021, Sikandar experienced pain in his right arm which kept getting getting worse and doctor later said it was an infection in the bone marrow. There were suspicions that he might have cancer; however the reports were negative. He made his return to the game in July 2021.
Facts
- He is the only Zimbabwean test cricket player who has scored consecutive fifties in both innings of a test match and also took 5 wicket. In 2017, he scored 80 and 89 runs and took 5 wickets for 99 runs against West Indies at Queens Sports Club Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
- He has scored 50 runs in a test match and took 5 wickets in the same match. He has done it twice when he scored 72 runs against Sri Lanka and took 7 wickets for 113 runs in 2020 at Harare Sports Club Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe and scored 80 and 89 runs and took 5 wickets for 99 runs against West Indies at Queens Sports Club Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 2017. He was also awarded Man of the Match in both these tests.
- He setup the record of highest opening partnership in ODI cricket for Zimbabwe when he along with Hamilton Masakzada put up a partnership of 224 runs against Afghanistan in July 2014 at Queens Sports Club Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He scored his highest score 141 runs and Hamilton scored 93 runs. He also setup another record of highest runs by any Zimbabwean player in an ODI chase as well as successful ODI run chase.
- His score of 135 runs (not out) against Bangladesh in August 2022 at Harare Sports Club Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe is highest by any ODI batsman in a successful run chase batting at number 5 or lower position.
- He is the first Zimbabwean player to score 3 centuries in successful ODI match run chases and first Zimbabwean player to score 2 consecutive centuries in successful consecutive ODI run chases.
- He is the fourth player to score 3 centuries in ODI in successful run chase in a calendar year.
- In August 2022, he became first Zimbabwean player to be selected ICC ODI player of the month.
- He has the highest score by any Zimbabwean player in T20 World Cup.
Incredible batting from @SRazaB24!
Well deserved POTM award 👏
▶️82 Runs (48 Balls)
▶️4s x 5; 6s x 5
▶️Strike Rate: 170.83
▶️1/22 (3 Overs)
▶️Eco: 7.33#Cricket #SRB24 #WCT20 #Zim #Allrounder #Spin #OneTeamOneDream #StemSports pic.twitter.com/J7gDrDxmTt— Stem Sports (@Stemsports1) October 17, 2022
- He is the first ODI player to score multiple centuries at batting position number 5 or below in the same series.
- He is the first Zimbabwean player to score 600 runs in T20 cricket in a calendar year.
- He is represented by Stem Sports and Lifestyle Management Agency.
- He is the brand ambassador of Splash Zimbabwe, Shrey Sports, The Country Club, and PUMA South Africa.
- His favourite food is African Braai.
