Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza Butt is a Pakistani-born cricketer who represents the Zimbabwean National team in all three formats. Born on 24 April 1986, he is a right-handed batting all-rounder who is handy with the ball as a right-arm off break.

He moved to Zimbabwe in 2001 from Pakistan and impressed at domestic level. The only issue was his citizenship, which was granted to him in 2011.

Zimbabwean cricketer Sikandar Raza was born in Pakistan. In his new homeland of Zimbabwe, where football is the predominant sport, Raza is acknowledged as the most admired athlete and has nearly single-handedly revived Zimbabwe's interest in cricket.

The 38-year-old became the first player to score five consecutive T20 international (T20I) half-centuries and has been nominated twice in a row for the ICC T20 International Player of the Year award.

Sikandar Raza: Along the Years 

Sikandar Raza Records 

• One of the 5 Zimbabwean cricketers to complete the triple of 1000 runs, 50 wickets and 50 catches in ODIs.

• Part of the highest opening stand (also the highest for any wicket) for Zimbabwe in ODIs with Hamilton Masakadza- 224 vs Afghanistan in 2014

• First all-rounder to score 250+ runs and claim 5+ wickets in a 3-match ODI series.

• Highest score by a Zimbabwe batter in a T20 World Cup fixture: 82 off 48 vs Ireland in Hobart on 17th October 2022.

• He scored two fifties and claimed a fifer which made him only the second Test cricketer to score 80 plus in both innings and take a five-wicket haul after South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.

• First Zimbabwean player to score a half-century in IPL

• First non-residential player to represent Zimbabwe at international level

• Highest individual score by a Zimbabwe batsman in an ODI run chase, with 141 runs

• Youngest Zimbabwe cricketer to hit a fifty in T20I

• Second Test cricketer to score 80 plus in both innings and take a five-wicket haul after Jacques Kallis

• Raza is first player to score three ODI centuries in ODI run chases in the same month of a calendar year , which took place in the month of August 2022.

• Fastest ODI century for Zimbabwe

Sikandar Raza Awards and Accolades 

• ZC (Zimbabwe Cricket) awarded him for this valuable contributions in the 2023 World Cup

• ICC Mens T20I Team of the Year (2022)

• ICC Mens ODI Team of the Year (2022)

• ICC MEns T20I Team of the Year (2023)

Sikandar Raza Career 

Sikandar Raza is an Indian right-handed batsman who plays mostly at No. 4 for the Indian National Cricket team and his IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders. He is the only Indian cricketer to hit a half-century and a century on his Test debut.

Sikandar Raza Domestic Career 

He had his ambitions set on to become a fighter pilot from an early age and got into Air Force college. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop out as he failed an eye test during the third year. While pursuing his bachelor's degree at the Glasgow Caledonian University, he realised his potential in the sport after playing semi-professional domestic cricket.

After the introduction of a new system of domestic cricket, he also played List A cricket originally for Northerns where he played for two years before switching to Mashonaland Eagles for whom he is playing his third spell now.

He made his List A debut in 2007 against Westerns where he scored just one run. He made his Twenty20 debut for the Southern Rocks in 2010 against the Desert Vipers as he again made 1 off 6 balls.

In 2010, he turned out to be a Twenty20 specialist with the bat as he was the leading run-scorer in the Domestic T20 Competition.

In the Metbank Pro40 Championship Final in 2010, he played an important knock against Mid-West Rhinos to win them the championship. He started to grab the attention of selectors as a result of the tournament.

He played for Northerns, a first-class cricket team in Zimbabwe from 2007 to 2009 before moving to Mashonaland Eagles in 2009 and 2011 season. He played the 2010 edition for Southern Rocks. He now represents Mashonaland Eagles. He was then picked up by Chittagong Vikings in the 2017 edition of Bangladesh Premier League. Raza has also represented the likes of Peshawar Zalmi, Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

Sikandar Raza IPL Career 

In the Indian Premier League, Sikandar Raza is the fourth cricketer from Zimbabwe. He plays for the Punjab Kings. He made his IPL debut in 2023. He has played nine matches so far in his career, with an average of 26 runs. He has scored182 runs, including his highest IPL score of 57 runs. Sikandar Raza has hit twelve fours and eight sixes. In the IPL Auction 2024, the Punjab franchise paid Rs 50.00 Lakhs to sign Sikandar Raza. His final IPL match was against Hyderabad at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, India, where he scored 28 runs off 22 balls.

Sikandar Raza International Career 

Sikandar Raza ODI Career 

His ODI debut was against Bangladesh on May 3, 2013, when he scored just 3 runs coming in at number 3.

He was in the preliminary squad for Zimbabwe 2011 Cricket World Cup but couldn’t make the cut into the final squad for the campaign.

He was instrumental in their 3-2 series win over Sri Lanka which was Zimbabwe’s first ever 5 match series win away from home as he was adjourned the man of the match award for his wonderful spell of 3/21 and scoring 27 runs in the series decider.

A year later, he finished as Zimbabwe's 2nd-highest run-scorer- 196 runs in 6 innings at the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers . Raza continued to spearhead the batting-unit together during the seasons that ensued, with his form peaking in 2022.

In August 2022, the right-handed batter struck consecutive hundreds against Bangladesh to help the African nation pull off a shocking ODI series win since 2013. He followed it with another breathtaking hundred- a 95-ball 115- against India to nearly help Zimbabwe chase down 290 in the 3rd ODI in Harare.

He delivered one of the most amazing challenging knocks in ODI cricket history in the third and final ODI against India in August 2022, scoring 115 off just 95 balls. His knock featured nine fours and three sixes with a strike rate of 121.05, but it didn't prove enough to help Zimbabwe cross the finish line. Since all three of Raza's centuries in 2022 came during run chases in the month of August, he became the first player to score three ODI hundreds in ODI run chases in the same calendar month. Raza dominated in 2022's shorter forms, with 516 runs in T20Is and 615 runs in ODIs.

In the June 20, 2023, qualifying encounter against the Netherlands, Raza displayed his complete potential. As a bowler, he claimed four wickets. He scored his seventh and fastest ODI century for Zimbabwe when trailing 315 runs. From 54 deliveries, he scored an unbeaten 102 runs while hitting eight sixes and six boundaries. He led Zimbabwe to a six-wicket victory and was named player of the match for his all-around performance.

Sikandar Raza Test Career 

He made his Test Debut against Pakistan on 3rd September 2013 in which he made 60 and 24 in the first match as Pakistan won by 221 runs.

He backed it up with a career-defining hundred (127 off 205) against a Rangana Herath-led Sri Lankan attack in the one-off Test in Colombo immediately after the ODI series.

This was followed by yet another head-turning performance during the home series against West Indies later that year. In the 2nd Test in Bulawayo, Raza scored 80 & 89 in addition to picking up his maiden five-for (5/99) to help Zimbabwe draw the game.

Sikandar Raza T20I Career 

Just 8 days later after his ODI debut on 3rd May 2013 against Bangladesh, he made his T20I debut when he played as a middle-order batsman and scored a run-a-ball 14 as Zimbabwe won the encounter.

Since the start of 2018, no Zimbabwe batter has scored more runs than Raza's 1812. His T20I batting also seems to have hit a purple patch, with the classy batter elevating his strike-rate a few notches higher while also maintaining his consistency.

He has batted 16 times in the ongoing calendar year and has hammered 598 runs @ 42.71/154.52 with 5 50+ scores.

The batting all-round was at the peak of his powers during the T20I series against Bangladesh in July-August 2022, scoring 127 runs @ 63 besides taking 5 wickets in 3 games at 29.20 apiece.

Raza has started off his T20 World Cup 2022 in style as he smashed a match-winning 48-ball 82 besides notching up figures of 1/22 (3) against Ireland in the Group B fixture in Hobart. He was an important factor in Zimbabwe's overwhelming victory in the tournament, which saw them overcome the Netherlands in the final match to earn a spot in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup qualifying round. In the finals, his efficient 4/8 bowling earned him the title of player of the match. This helped Zimbabwe defend a small score of 132. In the 2022 T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, he was also named Player of the Tournament for his all-around performance.

His 82 is the highest score recorded by a Zimbabwe batter in a T20 World Cup encounter.

Sikandar Raza Captaincy 

For the 2024 T20 World Cup, Sikandar Raza will lead Zimbabwe's T20 international cricket squad as captain. During India's tour of Zimbabwe in 2015, he was selected Zimbabwe's stand-in captain for a Twenty20 international match, which ended in a 10-run victory for the team. In 2012, he captained the Mash Eagles four times in domestic cricket. 

Sikandar Raza Under-19 Career 

Zimbabwean international cricket player Sikandar Raza played semi-professional cricket at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland while pursuing a degree in software engineering. In the Faithwear Clothing Inter-Provincial One Day Competition in 2007, he made his List A debut for the Northerns, although he did not fare well. Then, in the Logan Cup, he made his first-class debut against the Easterns. However, he only appeared in a few games before completing his studies in 2010. 

In the 2010–11 cricket season, Raza made a comeback to the game, scoring 625 runs at an average of 41. Although he was included in Zimbabwe's preliminary team for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, he was pulled out of the final selection. He played his first Test match against Pakistan in September of 2013. 

Sikandar Raza Family 

Sikandar Raza, a Pakistani-born cricketer who plays for Zimbabwe, was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan on April 24, 1986 to a Kashmiri family who speaks Punjabi. Tasadaq Hussain Raza is the father of Sikandar Raza.

Sikandar Raza Net Worth 

Sikandar Raza’s estimated net worth is a whopping $1.5 million USD. 

Sikandar Raza House 

There is no information about Sikandar Raza’s House in the public domain.

Sikandar Raza Cars 

There is no authentic information about Sikandar Raza’s Car collection.