The 42nd match of IPL 2024 proved to be memorable for Punjab Kings. The Punjab team did the impossible and made a record of achieving the biggest target in T20 history by registering a win against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, after this record win, leading all-rounder Sikandar Raza has left Punjab Kings.
Sikandar Raza left the team for an important reason. Zimbabwe’s tour of Bangladesh is to start from May 3, in which five T20 matches will be played and that is why Sikandar Raza has returned from the middle season of IPL 2024 to perform his national duty.
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Raza is Zimbabwe’s T20 captain
Zimbabwe will not be seen in the T20 World Cup to be held in June but this series is very important for him personally. Raza is Zimbabwe’s T20 captain and would like the team to do well in Bangladesh under his leadership.
Sikandar Raza gave information about leaving Punjab Kings on social media. The right-handed all-rounder shared the information about leaving Punjab Kings in the middle of IPL 2024 with the fans on social media platform X. He tweeted and wrote,
Thank you India, IPL and Punjab Kings for having me, I loved every minute of it. Now the time for national duty has come. Inshallah we will meet again soon.
Thank you India 🇮🇳, @IPL and @PunjabKingsIPL for having me , loved every minute of it
Time for national 🇿🇼 duty now #InshaAllah we will meet again soon #visitzimbabwe #visitindia #Alhamdulillah pic.twitter.com/YVkBOtp6bH
— Sikandar Raza (@SRazaB24) April 27, 2024
Sikandar Raza played only 2 matches for Punjab Kings
In IPL 2024, Sikandar Raza did not get many opportunities to showcase his talent and he became a part of Punjab’s playing XI only in two matches. During this period, 43 runs came from his bat, while not a single success was achieved in bowling.
If we talk about the match between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, it was a tremendous match. After losing the toss, KKR, batting first, scored 261/6, which is also the highest T20 total by any team at Eden Gardens, thanks to the strong innings of their openers.
Chasing the target of 262, PBKS registered a historic win by scoring 262/2 with eight balls remaining. For Punjab, Jonny Bairstow played an unbeaten innings of 108 runs. At the same time, Shashank Singh remained unbeaten after scoring 68 runs, while Prabhsimran Singh contributed 54 runs.
