Sikandar Raza could not follow Indian T20 League due to bizarre reason

All franchises of the Indian T20 League participated in the mini-auction in Kochi on 23 December 2022. All those teams were looking to add more quality players to their available squads. However, Sikandar Raza was of the names on whom all teams were keeping their eyes.

This star player from Zimbabwe has enjoyed a great run of form with both the bat and the ball in recent tournaments. However, Punjab fans went crazy after the franchise bought him at his base price of INR 50 Lakhs only. It was quite surprising to see that no other franchise got involved in a bidding war. But, unfortunately, the player himself missed the opportunity to see him getting that maiden Indian T20 League contract live.

"It would be nice to have the Indian T20 League on my CV" - Sikandar Raza

While talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Sikandar Raza said: “I said, ‘what, I can’t see it. Are you guys playing a prank?’ They said to check the auction. I said I am checking but I haven’t even been up there. What happened was, by the time I reconnected, I had gone already. So basically I didn’t see the bid. Maybe that was a good thing actually. I reckon it’s a good thing. If I was watching, I would have shouted in the meeting!" Speaking of the meeting, it was the anti-corruption meeting for the domestic T20 league in Nepal.

“It was part of my thinking that before I hang my boots up, it would be nice to have the Indian T20 League on my CV. Alhamdulillah (thank God) it has happened. I am really happy, humble, and excited at the same time. I would have any franchise but to have a Punjabi munda in Punjab, it is a great match," Raza concluded.         

Speaking of Sikandar Raza, he has scored 1259 runs in 63 innings, at an average of 20.98 for Zimbabwe. In the 20-20 World Cup 2022 also, he was the highest run-scorer for his team in that tournament with 219 runs in eight innings, at an average of 27.37. With the ball also, he took 10 wickets in eight matches, at an economy of 6.50.