Zimbabwean star Sikandar Raza recently named his favorite international batters and bowlers but notably omitted contemporary greats like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Babar Azam from his list.
Born in Sialkot, Pakistan, in April 1986, Raza debuted for Zimbabwe in 2013, becoming the first non-residential player to represent the team. He has become an essential all-rounder with his skills in batting and off-spin bowling.
Currently, Raza is competing in the Men’s The Hundred 2024 for the Manchester Originals. In the ongoing tournament, he has scored 13, 21, and 13 runs in his three matches and claimed 2 wickets for 29 runs against the Trent Rockets.
Sikandar Raza Names His Favorite Batters And Bowlers In International Cricket
Sikandar Raza recently held a Q&A session with fans on X (formerly Twitter), addressing a range of personal and cricket-related queries. Among the questions was one about his favorite batters and bowlers in international cricket.
Raza named Rohit Sharma of India, Zimbabwe’s Craig Ervine, and Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique as his top batters. For bowlers, he selected Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, West Indies legend Sunil Narine, and Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi.
“Your favourite bowler or batsman?” a fan asked.
“Bowlers: Narine , Bumrah and Shaheen. Batsmen: Abdullah Shafiq, Craig Ervine and Rohit,” Raza wrote.
Sikandar Raza has represented Zimbabwe in 17 Test matches, 142 ODIs, and 91 T20 Internationals. The right-handed batter has accumulated 1,187 runs in Tests, 4,154 runs in ODIs, and 2,037 runs in T20Is. His Test record includes one century and eight fifties, while in ODIs, he has seven centuries and 21 half-centuries.
A versatile cricketer, Raza is also an adept off-spinner and can bowl leg-spin when required. In Tests, he has taken 34 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls. In ODIs, he has captured 88 wickets at an economy rate of 4.87, with best figures of 4/55. In T20Is, he has claimed 66 wickets.
Globally, Raza has played 248 T20 matches, scoring 5,104 runs at a strike rate of 134.24, with 30 fifties. As a bowler in T20s, he has taken 145 wickets at an average of 28.12 and an economy rate of 7.41, including three four-wicket hauls.
His most recent international appearance was during India’s tour of Zimbabwe last month. Raza led Zimbabwe to victory in the first match but couldn’t sustain the momentum, as Zimbabwe lost the remaining four matches against the Indian team led by Shubman Gill.
