Zimbabwe appoint Sikandar Raza as new captain ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup qualifiers
Sikandar Raza (Source-Twitter)
37-year-old all-rounder Sikandar Raza has been appointed as the Zimbabwe skipper in the T20 format. The move comes just weeks before the start of the African leg of qualifiers for the T20 World Cup in 2024.
Namibia is set to host the African leg of qualifiers with other teams in contentions. Apart from the hosts Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya are taking part in this qualification process.
Zimbabwe aren’t part of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 as they did not qualify for the event. During the 2022 T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe secured a huge win when they beat Pakistan in the group stage matches.
Sikandar Raza named Zimbabwe Captain –
37-year-old Sikandar Raza has been appointed the Zimbabwe Captain in the T20 format. The news was confirmed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Board when they took to Twitter. The Tweet read “Breaking News: Raza named T20I captain as ZC rings the changes”
The Tweet from the Zimbabwean board further read “All-rounder Sikandar Raza has been named captain of Zimbabwe’s T20 international team in one of the changes announced by the Zimbabwe Cricket Board after its meeting held in Victoria Falls on Saturday”
https://twitter.com/ZimCricketv/status/1720835367861878889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1720835367861878889%7Ctwgr%5Ee13685455b6d35e74b71ef83ae646cc250aa375b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatvnews.com%2Fsports%2Fcricket%2Fzimbabwe-appoint-sikandar-raza-as-new-t20i-captain-as-chevrons-look-to-confirm-spot-in-t20-world-cup-2024-2023-11-05-901270
It was also announced that Zimbabwe will have new selectors in place with Dave Houghton still being the coach. The statement read “The Men’s Selection Panel will now have three members, with David Mutendera remaining as Convener and joined by Houghton and Elton Chigumbura,”
Sikandar Raza is one of the most sought-after names in the T20 format and played for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 season. The 37-year-old played 7 games and scored 139 runs with one half-century and picked 3 wickets with the ball.
For his national side, Sikandar Raza has played 71 T20I games and scored 1436 runs with 8 half-centuries and a best of 87. He has an average of 22 and a strike rate of nearly 131. With the ball, Sikandar Raza has picked 42 wickets with a best of 4/8 and has an economy rate of 7.32 runs per over.
In the Asian region Nepal and Oman have qualified for the T20 World Cup in 2024. It was an emotional moment for Nepal as a huge crowd witnessed the historic qualification for their home side. West Indies and USA are set to host the 2024 Tournament to be played from June 4-30 with 20 teams participating.
