Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza Butt is a Pakistani-born Zimbabwean cricketer. Despite being born in Pakistan, he migrated to Zimbabwe with his whole family and teammate Saad Khan in 2001. He soon became one of the best domestic batters and caught the selectors’ eye. The only issue was the Citizenship, which he got in 2011.

After the country’s domestic structure underwent an overhaul in 2009, Raza played in List A matches with success. A series of top performances caught the eye of the Zimbabwe selectors, who included him in the 2011 Cricket World Cup pool, but he could not break through in the final squad.

The all-rounder scored 60 runs on his Test debut against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club on September 3rd, 2013, and showed sparks of brilliance thereafter. The explosive batter backed it up with an 82-run knock against India in his fourth ODI. However, the aforementioned tour of Sri Lanka was the real coming-of-age series for Raza. 

Raza became an overnight sensation after winning the Man of the Match award for a crucial cameo in a 

pressure situation chasing 204 on a rank-turner in Hambantota in July 2017. In the same series against Sri Lanka, Raza scored his maiden Test century, guiding Zimbabwe to post a huge total for the hosts to chase. Despite his brilliant knock, Sri Lanka chased down 389 and won the one-off Test series by recording the highest chase on Asian soil.

During the second Test against the West Indies in October 2017, the Sialkot-born all-rounder stepped up as a breathtaking bowler and scalped his first five-wicket haul in Test Cricket. Apart from fifty, Raza also scored two fifties and became only the second Test cricketer to score 80-plus in both innings and take a five-wicket haul after Jacques Kallis.

Raza was not offered a central contract by the Zimbabwe board in 2018, which surely demoralised the all-rounder, but he found a way to move past it. 

In January 2020, the seasoned campaigner took the second-best bowling figures in Test Cricket for a Zimbabwe bowler with 7 for 113 runs and became the epitome of Zimbabwe Cricket.

In 2021, Sikandar Raza remained Zimbabwe’s heartbeat — the glue binding their often-fractured cricketing fortunes. Whether with bat or ball, his contributions carried both weight and timing, providing the side with a rare blend of composure and intent. Though the team’s results were mixed, Raza's consistency was unmistakable. 

An explosion arrived in 2022 — a year that would go down as the most luminous chapter in Raza’s international career. In ODIs alone, he compiled a staggering 645 runs at an average of 49.6 and a strike rate of 87.2, including two centuries and three fifties. These weren’t just empty numbers on flat decks — they came in pressure situations, often with Zimbabwe chasing or clawing their way back into contests. In T20Is, too, he was unstoppable, racking up 516 runs, thriving in the high-octane middle-order role that demanded both urgency and calculation. Whether setting up a total or finishing an innings, Raza made sure his bat was never quiet for long.

The high point of this golden run came in August 2022, when Raza entered a rarefied space reserved for modern-day marvels. Against India in Harare, he played one of the most unforgettable innings of his career — a blazing 115 off just 95 balls. Chasing 290, Raza single-handedly dragged Zimbabwe from despair to the brink of a miracle, dismantling one of the world’s most skilled bowling attacks with a blend of audacity and touch. Though Zimbabwe ultimately fell short, Raza’s knock was heroic in its defiance and daring, leaving even the opposition applauding. Remarkably, this century was one of three he scored in ODI chases during that month alone — a world-first, making him the only player ever to notch a trio of hundreds in run chases in a single calendar month.

Beyond the Zimbabwean badge, 2023 also marked the full flowering of Raza’s franchise cricket journey. He earned a richly deserved debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Punjab Kings, becoming only the fourth Zimbabwean to feature in the league. In limited opportunities, he made crucial contributions — a game-winning cameo here, a clutch wicket there — each moment further proof that his skillset translated across leagues and pressure scenarios. His success wasn’t confined to India. Raza also featured in the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE and the Pakistan Super League (PSL), adapting seamlessly to diverse conditions and team roles. 

(As of May 2025)