How Sikandar Raza took 6 flights to join TKR team in CPL 2020

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) won their fourth Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title by defeating St. Lucia Zouks in the final. The tournament was a dream run for the franchise as they remained unbeaten throughout the extravaganza. The senior players performed incredibly well but the contribution by the first-timers like Sikandar Raza and Pravin Tambe also helped the side to remain a dominant force throughout the league.

Raza, the Zimbabwean off-spinner, picked up 7 wickets in the tournament at an average of 17. His performance was rated very highly and his role was quite critical for TKR to contain the opposition team in the middle overs. However, he has an interesting story to tell. He could have missed out on playing for his CPL franchise had it not been for their CEO Venky Mysore’s intervention.

His arrival to Trinidad became a matter of concern due to the unavailability of flight. Notably, a lot of countries had shut International flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the spinner found his way, but he had to go through six transits to reach his destination.

“Harare to Trinidad was a long journey but the credit goes to Venky sir. There was a time when it looked like I wasn’t going to make it to the CPL. They basically asked the TKR to sign a replacement, but Venky sir said ‘No, no, no, we will get our boy,'” Raza was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“To tell you the truth, he made sure I get there. The journey was Harare-Addis Ababa-Dubai-Amsterdam-Paris-Fort de France-Martinique-Barbados-TKR. As much as it was tough, now that I look back, it was all worth it,” he added.

The Dominant run for TKR

TKR never looked under pressure throughout the tournament. The team won all the league games and finished on the top spot on the points table. They won the knockout games very easily as well and a lot of credit goes to the senior members of the side. The key for the franchise is that they have created a dynasty and they believed in retaining their big match players.

Pollard and Simmons were exceptional in the whole tournament. Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, and Sunil Narine, all played their roles quite brilliantly. TKR has won 4 out of the last six tournaments. Now, they are considered as one of the most successful T20 teams in the entire world.