Raza in ESPN T20 team of the year

THE year 2023 ended on a high note for Zimbabwe Cricket T20 captain, Sikandar Raza who was named in the ESPN Cricinfo T20I Team of the Year.

It was a great year for the Chevrons stalwart who had a stellar performance in the game’s shortest version and was awarded for his consistency with both bat and ball.

Raza, who was named Zimbabwe’s new T20 captain in November, is the only Chevrons player who made the renowned cricket publication’s team of the year.

Captaining the team will be former South African skipper, Faf Du Plessis, in a squad dominated by Australian and Indian players who have three players each.

It was a worthy inclusion for Raza who played 11 T20 matches for Zimbabwe in 2023 and managed to score 515 runs at an impressive average of 51,5.

In his 11 innings, Raza has six half centuries and a high score of 82 runs.

As an all rounder, with ball in hand and in 12 innings, the Chevrons skipper claimed 17 scalps at an average of 14,9 and an economy rate of 6,57.
His incredible form in white ball cricket also saw him overtake Indian great, Virat Kohli in the most player of the match accolades.

Last year, Raza was also named in the publication’s One Day International (ODI) team of the year after yet another impressive display on the field of play and has since showed no signs of slowing down.

ESPNCRICINFO T20 Team of the Year:

Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Shubman Gill (India), Faf Du Plessis (South Africa), Glenn Maxwell (Australia), Suryakumar Yadav (India), Heinrich

Klaasen (South Africa), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Daniel Sams (Australia), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan), Nathan Ellis

(Australia). – @brandon_malvin