IPL 2018: Zimbabwe cricketers that could have been part of this edition

#1 Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza is a Pakistani-born Zimbabwean Cricketer. He made a name for himself for his batting and the ability to hit sixes with ease. He made his ODI debut in the year of 2013 against Bangladesh at home. He started his career as a middle-order batsman and was later promoted as an opener. His maiden ODI century came against Afghanistan at home in 2014, when he scored 141 off 133 balls, which helped his side to a convincing victory.

However, his best batting performance was in the tour of Pakistan, when he scored a swashbuckling 100 off just 84 balls against a potent bowling attack consisting of Mohammad Sami, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah. Although Zimbabwe ended up on the losing end, this knock by Sikandar Raza caught the eye of many and he was a star to reckon with.

With consistent performances in shorter formats of the game, Chittagong Vikings bought Sikandar Raza in the 5th season (2017) of Bangladesh Premier League. In one of the games, he scored a blistering 95 of 45 balls, which powered Chittagong to a mammoth total of 211 in 20 overs against Sylhet Sixers. This knock helped his side to a comfortable 40-run victory and was rightly awarded Man of the Match. He was also the man of the tournament in recently concluded ICC World Cup qualifiers.

Unfortunately, Sikandar Raza went unsold in the 2018 Vivo IPL Auctions as no franchise showed interest in buying him.