BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE Zimbabwe cricketer Sikandar Raza’s recent form has seen him rise seven places up to fourth on the International Cricket Council one-day international (ODI) all-rounder rankings
Raza scooped the Player of The Series accolade for the third time in a couple of months after Zimbabwe completed 2–1 series win over Bangladesh in one day games on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old all-rounder has been in the form of his life as he recorded unbeaten 135 and 117 scores in the first two matches of the series to give Zimbabwe an unassailable 2-0 lead in the contest.
Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is currently the best all-rounder in the world followed by two Afghans Mohammad Nabi and Rashi Khan with Raza now joining them.
Raza reflected on his meteoric rise on the ICC rankings after Wednesday’s 106 run defeat to Bangladesh in the third and final ODI match at Harare Sports Club.
“During my difficult times I know where I was, I know at one point I was 63 in the world on T20 all-rounders and I wrote that on the wall in my cricket room,” he told journalists.
“I looked at that wall pretty much every day and I made a promise so to be where I am, it’s humbling. I honestly believe there is still a long way to go but it’s nice to be headed in a good direction,” he added.
The other Zimbabwean who is among the top 20 all-rounders in One Day is Sean William who dropped one place to number 20.
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He missed the ODI series due to personal reasons.
Raza is also the country’s best batsman on the rankings after he moved 10 places up to position 29 among batters and is now 79th on the bowlers’ standings following his four wickets in the two matches.
Blessing Muzarabani remains Zimbabwe’s highest ranked bowler on position 41 while Chatara, who is also nursing an injury, is 67th and is followed by Raza
Williams (97) completes the number of Zimbabwean bowlers in the top 100.
Apart from Raza, there are also two other Zimbabwean batsmen on the ICC top 100 ranking, Sean Williams (47) and Craig Ervine (75).
A little less than a year and a half ago, Raza’s cricket career was in jeopardy after he underwent an emergency biopsy after the discovery of a tumour in his arm.
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