BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s talismanic all-rounder, has been short-listed for three major International Cricket Council (ICC) awards following a splendid year in the two white-ball formats.
The 36-year-old star was in majestic form with the bat for Zimbabwe and also took crucial wickets for the African side with his off-spin.
Pakistan-born Raza first lines up in the main category – the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year – which is named after West Indies luminary Sir Garfield Sobers, considered by many to be the greatest cricketer of all.
This award is for the best overall performer in international cricket across all three formats of the game.
Zimbabwe didn’t play any Test cricket in the year, so Raza has very stiff competition from the other short-lists in this category: Babar Azam of Pakistan, England’s Ben Stokes and New Zealander Tim Southee.
Raza gains his place among this illustrious company based on his 1 380 runs and 33 wickets in the year in ODI and T20I cricket.
Perhaps Raza’s best chance lies in the shorter version categories, where he has been shortlisted in both.
In the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year section – he competes with Babar Azam, Australia’s Adam Zampa, and West Indian Shai Hope.
Then there is the T20I Cricketer of the Year category. India star Suryakumar Yadav, England’s World Cup hero Sam Curran and Pakistan ace Mohammad Rizwan are on the list alongside Raza.
Raza clubbed 645 runs and took eight wickets in 15 ODI matches in 2022. In T20s, he scored 67 runs and claimed 25 wickets in 19 matches.
