HARARE – Sikandar Raza has been named in the ICC Team of the Year, capping a brilliant individual contribution in Zimbabwe’s marked return to competitiveness in the 50-over format of the game for men’s cricket.
The ICC Team of the Year recognises 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed one and all – be it with the bat, the ball or their all-round exploits in a calendar year.
Raza is named alongside 10 other players who dominated men’s cricket in 2022. The others are Babar Izam (Pakistan), Travis Head and Adam Zampa (Australia), Shai Hope and Alzarri Joseph (West Indies), Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj (India), Trent Boult and Tom Latham (wk) (New Zealand) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh.
Last year witnessed the resurgence of Zimbabwe on the international scene and a lot of it was down to one man – Sikandar Raza. Raza aggregated 645 runs at an average of 49.61 and strike rate of 87.16, making two fifties to complement three centuries.
With ball in hand, Raza was ever-reliable, scalping eight wickets while giving away just more than five an over.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam once again showed his prowess in the 50-over format, displaying once again why he has ruled the roost at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings since July 2021.
In the nine matches Babar played last year, the 28-year-old registered eight scores of more than fifty, three of which he converted into hundreds. He finished the year with 679 runs at a stunning average of 84.87.
It was a memorable year for Babar as captain of the Pakistan ODI team, winning three series out of three. Pakistan were unstoppable in the ODI format, losing just one match (against Australia) out of nine.
His leadership skills saw him being named captain of the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year for 2022.
