Zimbabwe is banking on Pakistan-born Sikandar Raza against India

The Indian sub-continent has always been the home of immense talent when it comes to cricket. Many cricketers who have their roots in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have settled elsewhere across the globe and have given outstanding performances for their adopted countries. The latest in this category is Sikandar Raza the 36-year-old right handed batter who will represent Zimbabwe against India soon in the forthcoming series.

But Raza is not just a gifted cricketer. He is an erudite man who has a keen understanding of the game. He knows that the Indian team cannot be taken lightly. India has the depth of talent to demolish all rivals so Raza is leaving no stone unturned in his preparations.

Born in Sialkot in 1986, Raza emigrated to Zimbabwe in 2002 along with his family. He soon became one of the best batsmen in the domestic competition there and caught the eye of the Zimbabwe selectors. There was a problem with his citizenship but that was eventually sorted out and he was granted full citizenship in 2011. Raza plays in all formats of the game primarily as a batter. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2013.

MS Education Academy

As a young man, Raza’s first ambition was to become a pilot. That was when his family was living in Pakistan. He had studied at the Pakistan Air Force Public School and was inspired by the takes of heroism and valour that he heard. The school is a boys military boarding school situated at PAF Base in Lower Topa which is in the picturesque Murree region. Several of Pakistan’s army and air force commanders have come from this school. But Raza’s dreams of becoming a pilot were nipped in the bud when he failed a vision test that was mandatory for all boys who wished to become a pilot.

But as it turned out later, the loss of his ambition proved to be a gain for cricket. In 2002, Raza moved with his family to Zimbabwe. He later went to Scotland, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in software engineering at the Glasgow Caledonian University and it was here that Raza began to play cricket seriously at a semi professional level.

After returning to Zimbabwe, Raza went on to play first-class cricket for the Mashonaland Eagles team. He made his List A debut in 2007 and then his T20 debut for the Southern Rocks team against Desert Vipers team. Raza’s performances fetched him a place in the preliminary squad for Zimbabwe’s 2011 world cup team although finally he failed to make it into the final 15 man line up.

Raza made his ODI debut for Zimbabwe in 2013 against Bangladesh but did not score much. However he shot into the limelight when he scored 82 off 112 balls with 6 fours and two sixes against India in his 4th ODI match. More success followed and in 2015 he represented Zimbabwe in the world cup. Now he has been named in the Zimbabwe squad which will play against India in the three match ODI series.

The ODI series will form part of the inaugural ICC 2020-2023 World Cup super league. Originally the series was scheduled to be played in August 2020, but, in June 2020, the BCCI called off the tour due to the pandemic. However, in July 2022, the series was rescheduled and will now be held at the Harare Sports Club ground.

Needless to say, Raza is raring to go. His team captain Regis Chakabva has a lot of faith in his abilities as do the Zimbabwe selectors. Raza and his teammates will not take things lightly. Knowing that the Indian team has the ability to destroy the strongest line up in the world, they have decided to watch and carefully analyse the Indian team’s strengths and weaknesses.

“The Indian attack is a high quality one. So we have to try and execute our skills and plans perfectly on the match days. Hopefully our skills will outshine those of our opposition and that is all that matters,” said Raza. He has fought to overcome a serious ailment that had affected him about a year ago. In 2021 Raza had suffered an infection in his bone marrow. It was suspected to be cancerous. His family and friends were concerned that chemotherapy may not be enough and the arm might have to be amputated. Luckily for him, it was not cancerous. But he had to undergo surgery and was out of action for three months.

Now he is going through a purple patch. In 2022, he has slammed no less than 988 runs in 24 innings across all formats so far. His average is 49.40 (67.42 in ODIs with 2 100s and 2 50s and a strike rate of 152.21 in T20Is). Although he is in his mid-30s, he seems to be having one of the best phases of his career. It will be interesting to see how he will perform against the Indian team which will be led by K.L. Rahul with Shikhar Dhawan as the vice captain.

Back to top button