Sikandar Raza Butt

International Career

The one-man army of the recent Zimbabwe cricket team, Sikandar Raza is an exception who has earned his position in the international team. Raza was born on 24 April 1986 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan to a Punjabi-Muslim family. He is one of the most aggressive top-order batsmen, known for his sheer striking ability to leave a lasting impact on the opposition. On the other hand, he has balanced his skills in bowling with his great off-spin style with the ball, making himself a complete all-rounder that the world needs to witness.

His outstanding performances in domestic cricket paved the way for his international career. During his peak domestic career, he caught the eyes of Zimbabwean selectors and he got a chance to play against Bangladesh in a practice match. However, he was ineligible to play for the international team due to his citizenship status which was then granted to him in September 2011 and after that, this T20I specialist run machine did not stop giving countless commendable performances. Let us surf through his international journey:

• May 03, 2013: Sikandar Raza made his first international debut in the ODI format in a match against Bangladesh at Bulawayo in the Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe series. He came out batting in the 3rd position and scored 3 runs with a strike rate of 50 and was dismissed by Shafiul Islam.

• May 11, 2013: On this day, Raza made his debut in the T20I format in which he became a stalwart later. He debuted against Bangladesh in the same series at Bulawayo. He batted on the 5th spot and scored 14 runs including a four with a strike rate of 100.

• September 03, 2013: Just 4 months from his ODI debut, he made his test debut on September 03, 2013 against Pakistan at Harare. In this match, Raza scored 60 runs in 118 balls with a strike rate of 50.84 in the 1st innings and scored 24 runs with a strike rate of 44.44 in the 2nd innings.

• 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier: He showcased his real abilities in this tournament and struck 319 runs and bagged 15 wickets which led him to win the title of ‘Player of the Tournament’.

• August 6, 2022: Raza smashed back-to-back centuries against Bangladesh in an ODI series that led them to win their first ODI series against Bangladesh since 2013.

• October 23, 2024: He created history when he secured 133 runs off 43 balls only, which is the 2nd fastest T20I century and the first T20I century for Zimbabwe against the Gambia in the 2024 ICC Men’s World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier.

Indian Premier League

Sikandar Raza has phenomenal batting capability and he has proved his worth in every format, especially in the T20 format. He is a T20 specialist, so it was his greatest desire to appear in the Indian Premier League which is the best T20 league tournament. However, it was a little late when he appeared for the first time in 2023 in the Indian Premier League. He was signed by Punjab Kings for the 2023 IPL and he made his debut in the same year. He has only played for Punjab Kings for the past two seasons 2023 and 2024, playing 9 matches in his whole IPL career and obtaining 182 runs with a strike rate of 133.82.

Raza has had decent chances to prove himself in the IPL, which he did indeed. He scored the first-ever half-century by a Zimbabwean player in IPL when he scored 57 off 41 deliveries to defeat Lucknow SuperGiants. Let us get an overview of the season-wise stats of Sikandar Raza:

Domestic Career

When Raza returned to Zimbabwe in 2007, he was determined to get into the sport professionally and wanted to represent Zimbabwe at international level. He made his First-Class debut on April 12, 2007, in the Logan Cup for the Northerners against the Easterns. Although his first match was a remarkable one, he scored 17 runs off 87 balls at a strike rate of 19.54 in the 1st innings and accumulated only 8 runs off 32 balls at a strike rate of 25 in the 2nd innings. However, he has improved his playing style and his abilities in First-Class cricket, he has a top score of 146 runs. He has 4462 runs in total in first-class cricket and 81 wickets in 67 matches which shows his absolute all-rounding ability.

Raza debuted in his List-A journey just 20 days before his First-Class debut on March 22, 2007. It was the match of the Westerns vs the Northerns at Harare, Zimbabwe and he was the part of Northerns. He was in the top batting order and opened from the non-striking side. Raza scored just a run off 8 deliveries and was dismissed for the first wicket. Later, in 2010, he amassed 44 runs for Southern Rocks in the Pro40 Championship, which was his first noticeable performance. His best score in the List-A format is 80 runs which was achieved in January 2011. He accumulated 7581 runs and 175 wickets in his list-A journey.

Records and Achievements

One of the most decorated players and personalities coming from the Zimbabwean side is Sikandar Raza. he has curated his presence in the cricketing scenario through his record-breaking performances. Let us dive into the awards and records achieved by him.

Awards:

With his immense skills and dedication, Raza has been honoured with various respectable awards that define his hard work and commitment to the game. Let us go through his awards and accolades.

• He was honoured with the Zimbabwe Cricket Award in 2023 for his most.
• Important contributions to the World Cup.
• He was named in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2022.
• He was also named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year 2022.
• He was named in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2023.
• He was named in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2024.

Records:

Raza has garnered a number of records and milestones with his exceptional all-rounder skills and has become a big name in the Zimbabwean cricketing universe. Let’s explore the commendable records achieved by Raza.

• Raza holds a record for the most consecutive innings without a duck (98) [4th position].
• He is amongst the 5 Zimbabwean cricketers to complete 1000 runs, 50 wickets and 50 catches in One-Day Internationals.
• He has received the most Player of the Match awards in T20IS(17).
• He holds a record for 2nd most runs scored by a captain in an innings in T20Is (133*).
• He holds the top record for scoring fifties in consecutive innings in T20I (5).
• He is sitting in the 4th position in most sixes in an innings in T20Is (15).
• He has the 3rd highest partnership for the fifth wicket in T20Is (141*).

Personal life

The sensational all-rounder of Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza Butt was born on 24 April 1986 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. He was born in a Punjabi-speaking Kashmiri family and studied at Pakistan Air Force College, Lower Topa, Pakistan. Initially, Raza wanted to become a Pakistan Air Force pilot and was selected among the 60 students out of 60000 to become a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, he failed to clear the final eye test and was not qualified to be a pilot. Raza and his family moved to Zimbabwe in 2002 and he moved to Scotland, UK to pursue further higher education at Glasgow Caledonian University to complete his bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering and completed his graduation in 2009.