Sikandar Raza

Once his studies were done, he committed fully to cricket in 2010-11 and made 625 runs at an average of 41. His first Twenty20 outing came in 2010 for the Southern Rocks against the Desert Vipers, and he topped the run charts in that year's Stanbic Bank 20 Competition. Called into a practice game against Bangladesh as cover for the injured Vusi Sibanda, he impressed enough that his citizenship was fast-tracked, arriving in late 2011. He had been in the provisional group for the 2011 World Cup but missed the final selection.

His ODI debut came in May 2013 against Bangladesh, a quiet start, but in his fourth match he struck 82 against India for his first fifty. He also debuted in T20Is versus Bangladesh. In September 2013 he played his first Test against Pakistan, standing in for Brendan Taylor and reaching fifty in the first innings, before losing his spot when Taylor returned. A 2014 tour of Bangladesh brought three fifties in three matches as an opener, and he was part of the 2015 World Cup squad.

In 2017 he helped Zimbabwe secure their first bilateral ODI series win in Sri Lanka with bat and ball, then scored a maiden Test hundred, 127, in a one-off Test there that Zimbabwe lost. Named Player of the Tournament at the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers with 319 runs and 15 wickets, he was among senior players dropped after Zimbabwe failed to qualify.

In April 2021 a bone marrow infection first feared to be cancer proved otherwise, and he returned four months later, earning man of the series as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh at home in ODIs and T20Is. Player of the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup Qualifiers, he starred in Australia as Zimbabwe progressed past the group stage and beat Pakistan. Adding a carrom ball and bowling at the death, he joined Dubai Capitals in the first ILT20, PSL champions Lahore Qalandars in 2023, and Punjab Kings for his first IPL in 2023.