Sikandar Raza Biography

Zimbabwean cricketer Sikandar Raza Butt, born in Pakistan on April 24, 1986, plays for his country internationally. Raza is an all-rounder who bats right-handed, bowls right-arm off-spin, and bowls right-handed. In May 2013, Raza made his Zimbabwean debut in international cricket.

Born in Sialkot, Raza and his family relocated to Zimbabwe in the year 2002. Sikandar Raza quickly rose to the top of the domestic tournament as a batsman, drawing the attention of Zimbabwe’s selectors. Citizenship issues were the only obstacle Sikander Raza faced, and they were cleared up in the year 2011.

Early Life

A Punjabi-speaking Kashmiri family gave birth to Raza in Sialkot. Sikandar Raza Butt spent three years studying at the Pakistan Air Force Public School Lower Topa with the intention of joining the Pakistan Air Force as a pilot, but when he failed the eye test required for selection at the time, his dreams were destroyed.

Raza and his family moved to Zimbabwe in the year 2002. In order to pursue a bachelor’s degree in software engineering, Sikandar moved to Scotland and enrolled at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Through his involvement in semi-pro cricket, Raza here reached his potential.

Domestic Career

The Mashonaland Eagles were Raza’s first team, and he later played List A cricket for the Northerns. Raza is a successful first-class cricketer in Zimbabwe. In 2010 against the Desert Vipers, Sikandar Raza Butt played his first Twenty20 match for the Southern Rocks. In the 2010 Stanbic Bank T20 Competition, Raza scored the most runs and in the Metbank Pro40 Championship Final, he hit an incredible 44 runs for Southern Rocks. Sikandar Raza Butt scored 80 runs, the greatest List-A score of his career, in 2011. Raza was chosen to represent Zimbabwe at the 2011 Cricket World Cup, however, he was not included in the final 15-man roster.

Additionally, Sikandar Raza Butt played admirably against the Matabeleland Tuskers, scoring 93 runs off just 48 balls. In addition to the Lahore Qalandars, Raza was chosen for the Montreal Tigers, Tshwane Spartans, Chittagong Vikings, Amsterdam Knights, and Trinbago Knight Riders. For Punjab Kings, Sikandar Raza Butt made his IPL debut in 2023, scoring 16 runs off of 13 balls and taking 1-25 from 3 overs.

International Career

Cricket player Raza from Zimbabwe made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in May 2013 and became the 116th member of the team to participate in the format. When he scored 82 off 112 balls and hit six fours and two sixes against India in the opening of a five-match home bilateral ODI series in 2013, he made history by becoming the first non-resident player to represent Zimbabwe at the international level. On November 5, 2013, Raza played in his first T20I match against Bangladesh, becoming the game’s youngest player to smash a fifty. In July 2014, when Zimbabwe defeated Afghanistan convincingly by eight wickets, he scored his first ODI century against Afghanistan. With 141, Raza also established a record for the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean batsman in a successful ODI run chase.

For the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Raza was a member of the Zimbabwean team and impressed many with his bowling. During the 2015 India tour to Zimbabwe, he was selected to serve as stand-in captain for the second T20I. He gave Zimbabwe their first victory of the tour by 10 runs, and in the 2016–17 Zimbabwe Tri-Series, he added an unbroken 91 runs to become the greatest 9th-wicket partnership for Zimbabwe in ODI cricket.

When Zimbabwe traveled to Sri Lanka in 2017, Raza demonstrated his ability to turn matches around by leading Zimbabwe to victory in the decisive ODI that ended the series 3-2. After Proteas Jacques Kallis, he was the only Test cricketer to score 80 or more in both innings and record a five-wicket haul. He got the Man of the Match award for his game-winning century in the last ODI.

Prior to the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier event, the International Cricket Council (ICC) identified Raza as one of the 10 players to watch in February 2018. Zimbabwe did not go to the 2019 Cricket World Cup, but he was given the Player of The Tournament title for his 319 runs and 15 wickets throughout the qualifiers. In July 2021, Raza made a comeback to competitive cricket. He made his international comeback during a bilateral home ODI series against Bangladesh. Zimbabwean Raza secured their first ODI victory since 2013 in August 2022 by scoring an undefeated 135 in a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. In successful ODI run chases, he became the first Zimbabwean to record three ODI hundreds. He was also the first Zimbabwean to score two centuries in a row in two successful ODI chases.

In the second ODI, Raza’s all-around performance—including his century—helped Zimbabwe win by five wickets and take a commanding 2-0 lead. In the qualification match against the Netherlands in June 2023, Raza’s all-around effort saw him come out on top. He scored an unbroken 102 runs off 54 deliveries, striking six boundaries and eight sixes. He was given the match’s Player of the Match award for his all-around effort.

Bio Data

Full name: Sikandar Raza Butt

Born 24 April 1986

age: 37 Years

Birth Place: Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm off break

Role: All-rounder

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