Raza, Ngarava in 2023 ICC team

FOLLOWING their brilliant performance in T20I cricket last year, the Chevrons duo of Richard Ngarava and Sikandar Raza have been named in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I Team of the Year for 2023.

The Chevrons duo is among the 11 best players who impressed with either bat and ball or both across the calendar year. The team has four players from India which is the most representation, followed by Zimbabwe with two.

It is Zimbabwe T20I skipper, Raza’s second consecutive inclusion in the Team of the Year while Ngarava makes his maiden appearance following a splendid 2023 with the ball in hand.

It was another staggering year for Raza, going back-to-back after also sliding in at Number Six (6) in the 2022 team. In the 2023 team, he also comes in at six.

In 2023, Raza was brilliant irrespective of Zimbabwe falling short of T20 World Cup qualification.

The all-rounder was consistent with bat in hand across the year making at least 20 in nine of his 11 innings across the year.

He began with two fifties in his first three T20I innings of his year, making 82 runs not out off 35 balls and 52 runs off 36 deliveries against Namibia in an away series. During the series, Raza also claimed 4/24 in his four-over spell with a ball in hand in the final match of the series.

After the series against Namibia, attention turned to the Africa Qualifier, where Raza shone despite Zimbabwe’s plight at the tournament.

His lowest score came making 48 runs from 39 balls in an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Uganda, passing the half-century mark in his other three knocks, most notably a score of 82 runs off 48 balls.

Raza also claimed multiple wickets in all but one of the Africa Qualifier matches. He also managed to claim figures of 3/28 in four overs in a series loss against Ireland at the end of the year.

The year 2023 was one to remember for Ngarava in the shortest version of the game. It was his splendid form that has seen him move three wickets shy of being Zimbabwe’s all-time leading wicket-taker in the format.

Troubling many a batter with his pace and bounce, the left-arm fast bowler, Ngarava was a nightmare prospect in 2023.

He ended the year with a massive 26 wickets in just 15 matches, and an economy rate of 5,63 runs per over, taking a wicket every 12.1 deliveries.

Ngarava began the year with figures of 2/20 in three overs against Ireland on home soil in Harare, before taking 1/32 two days later against the same opponent.

Attention moved to the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, where Ngarava claimed a wicket in every match. He went on to top the tournament tally, claiming 13 wickets at 8, 23.

Ngarava finished the year with five wickets in three home matches when Ireland visited again in December.

It is a well-deserved inclusion for the Zimbabwean duo who had a memorable year in the field of play. The two have become International acts in T20I cricket and won games for Zimbabwe.

The ICC T20I Team of the Year will be captained by hard-hitting Indian batter, Suryakumar Yadav.
ICC T20I Team of the Year

Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Phil Salt (England), Nicholas Pooran (West Indies, wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav (India, captain), Mark Chapman

(New Zealand), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Alpesh Ramjani (Uganda), Mark Adair (Ireland), Ravi Bishnoi (India), Richard Ngarava (Zimbabwe),

Arshdeep Singh (India). – @brandon_malvin.