Raza Zimbabwe’s Top Cricketer

BOASTING of being the best cricketer in Zimbabwe in the past year, Chevrons T20 captain Sikandar Raza has been honoured by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) for his stupendous performances with both bat and ball in the year 2023.

Yesterday ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni rewarded the Chevrons stalwart, Raza with a plaque and US$10 000 for his stellar performances which saw him scoop a number of individual accolades as he was scoring runs and taking wickets for fun.

Raza was an integral part of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national cricket team and had a blockbuster year in international cricket and his achievements have not gone unnoticed.

“We thought with his achievements and what he has done throughout the season, he deserved recognition from the company. He scored runs, he has taken wickets and he has led from the front and I think it’s befitting,” said Makoni.

ZC Director of Cricket Hamilton Masakadza concurred with Makoni that Raza was a deserving recipient of the accolades, adding that the 37 years old all-rounder is an inspiration to other players. Masakadza believes Raza’s dedication has put him where he is today.

“For us it’s very important that he leads from the front, like he has been doing a senior play, all the guys see it and they can see that it is possible from someone in a Zimbabwe shirt, someone in their changing room; that also then helps the other guys to aspire doing it as well and aspire to doing as well as he has done. It has been amazing to watch and its testament to the hard work that he has put in,” said Masakadza.

Receiving his accolade, Raza thanked ZC for such an award and believes it is something that should not stop with him but should continue as it will motivate other players. He also thanked Zimbabweans for the love and support they have been showering him with ever since he made his debut for the Chevrons in 2013.

“Thank you very much to ZC and everybody involved. It really means a lot and I think this has to be the way going forward, may it continue even after I am long gone, this is a very good start of a new tradition and I think we needed it in our organisation so I’m just speechless, I wasn’t expecting this. I owe this country a lot and I think that is my biggest motivation,” said Raza.

Some of his achievements in 2023 which saw him being honoured by ZC include making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut and going on to be the first Zimbabwean to win a Player of the Match accolade and score a half century in the world’s richest franchise league. He was also named in the ESPN Cricinfo T20i team of the tournament and CricTracker T20I Cricketer of the Year.

Raza was also named Player of the Tournament in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers Africa Final. He also has the most Player of the Match awards (nine), most Player of the Match awards in succession (four), most half centuries by a Zimbabwean in T20Is (six), Most runs by a Zimbabwean in T20Is (515 runs), and the most half centuries in succession in T20I (four). He also became the first Zimbabwean to get a hat-trick in T20Is (vs. Namibia) and the fourth Zimbabwean to reach 50 T20I wickets.

In November, Raza was named Zimbabwe’s new T20 captain, taking over the reigns from Craig Ervine.

In 2023, Raza had 14 ODI innings under his name and managed to score 487 runs (faced 450 balls) at an average of 40,6. He has a high score of 102 runs and with the ball in as many innings as well, he picked up 15 wickets at an average of 35,3 and an economy rate of 4,94. He had best match figures of 4/55.

In T20Is, Raza’s 515 runs came in 11 innings at an impressive average of 51,5 with a high score of 82 runs and six half centuries. He ended the year with 17 wickets at an average of 14,9 and an economy of 6,57 with best match figures of 4/24.

He did not play Test cricket last year after missing out on Zimbabwe’s only two matches which were played against the West Indies in Bulawayo in February. – @brandon_malvin