Sikandar Raza

Born in Sialkot in the northeast of Pakistan, Sikandar Raza wanted to be a fighter pilot. He was one of 60 to have won a place among 60,000 applicants that got into Air Force college.. But in his third year, he failed an eye test. He was told that 7 out of 10 people have the problem in normal life, but for him a dream was shattered.

Not dissuaded, Sikandar got admitted to Glasgow Caledonian University, where he picked up cricket as a semi-professional. He moved to Zimbabwe, where his parents had resided since 2002, and he made his first-class debut in 2007. He made one half-century in nine innings before completing his studies and returning to full-time cricket in the 2010-11 season.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) began a process to get him the necessary papers that would qualify him to play for the country and in May 2013, he made his international debut for Zimbabwe. Raza was instrumental in Zimbabwe beating Sri Lanka in 2017, which was their first ever win in a five-match ODI series away from home.

Raza lost his place in the Zimbabwe side despite being Player of The Tournament in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier as the team didn't make the cut. He made it back, overcame a bone-marrow infection in 2021 and was the player of the match in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup Qualifier.

He won it again after Zimbabwe beat Ireland and Pakistan in the main event. He made 615 ODI runs and 516 T20I runs in 2022 and went on to become Zimbabwe's T20I captain aged 37.

Apart from being an all-format regular in international cricket, Raza has risen in the T20 franchise circuit in his 30s. He has won two PSL titles with Lahore Qalandars, the second of which came when he travelled straight from Nottingham to Lahore hours after playing for Zimbabwe in a Test against England.