T20 World Cup qualifier: Sikandar Raza becomes first man to pick T20I hat-trick from Zimbabwe

Veteran cricketer Sikandar Raza became the first Zimbabwe man to pick up a hat-trick in T20I cricket. Against Rwanda in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier 2023, the all-rounder picked up the wickets of Muhammad Nadir, Zappy Bimenyimana and Emile Rukiriza to complete his hat-trick. Courtesy of his incredible performance with both bat and ball, Zimbabwe managed to win the match by 144 runs and with that, they are still alive to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024.

Batting first, Raza and Tadiwanashe Marumani gave the team a perfect start and an unbeaten 44-run innings by Ryan Burl helped the Chevrons post 215 runs on the board. When it came to the chase, Rwanda struggled to get going. Richard Ngarava was sensational with the new ball while Raza picked up the final three wickets to secure a win in Zimbabwe’s favour. They are currently fourth on the points table behind Namibia, Uganda and Kenya and hence, need something extraordinary to qualify for the mega tournament next year in the West Indies and USA.

PBKS retained Raza for IPL 2024

After having a brilliant season with both bat and ball in 2022, Sikandar Raza was picked up by Punjab Kings for IPL 2023. The franchise picked him up for his base price but the all-rounder failed to prove himself in the middle. He managed to score 119 runs in seven matches and picked up only three wickets. In the absence of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone in the initial matches, Raza was handed the opportunity but the cricketer couldn’t capitalize.

Despite so, the franchise kept their faith in the Zimbabwe international. There were talks of a few changes in the team composition but the Shikhar Dhawan-led franchise decided to retain Raza and just a day later, he picked up a hat-trick and scored some crucial runs to prove his value. He needs to keep up with his form to help Zimbabwe qualify for the T20 World Cup and to justify his place in the PBKS playing XI next year in the IPL.