Raza 3rd Zimbabwean to play in IPL

Sikandar Raza made his first-ever IPL appearance for the Punjab Kings on April 1. Raza had a poor outing with the bat, scoring 16 runs.

Sikandar Raza on Saturday became the third Zimbabwean to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after starting for Punjab Kings.

The 36-year-old Pakistan-born Raza made his first-ever appearance in the IPL, having been named in Punjab Kings’ squad against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Coming in at number five, Raza had a poor outing as the right-hander scored 16 runs before becoming Sunil Narine’s victim.

Raza joins Tatenda Taibu and Ray Price to feature in the biggest cricketing league in the world. Taibu had become the first Zimbabwean to play in the IPL, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008.

After Taibu, Price got the opportunity to play for Mumbai Indians in 2011.

Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor, too, was picked to play in the IPL, but he never got the opportunity to feature for SunRisers Hyderabad in 2014.

Raza was snapped by Punjab Kings during the one-day mini-auction for his base price INR 50 lakhs. After joining PBKS, Raza had said he wanted to play in the IPL before retiring from cricket.

“It was part of my thinking that before I hang my boots up, it would be nice to have the IPL on my CV.

“I am really happy, humble and excited at the same time. I would have [been fine with] any franchise, but to have a Punjabi munda in Punjab, it is a great match,” Raza had
said.

Raza also narrated the emotions he went through during the auction, saying: “I was in training. I was calm. Sometimes I was nervous.

“I went through all the emotions before the auction. We went back to the hotel. Then there was an anti-corruption meeting (while the auction was on).

“When it was my turn at the IPL auction, I was moving from one room to another, and the internet got disconnected.” — Indiatoday