 during the player auction in Kochi on Friday.){kind=link}
Zimbabwe cricket team all-rounder Sikandar Raza will have an opportunity to compete against some of the world’ leading cricketers after he was signed by the Punjab Kings for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the player auction in Kochi on Friday.
Raza was expected to attract offers from IPL teams during the auction following his exploits for the Zimbabwe team this year.
As expected he was signed by the Punjab Kings at his base price of INR 50 lakh (approximately US$61,408.80).
He becomes just the fourth player from Zimbabwe to be signed up by an IPL side after Ray Price, Tatenda Taibu, and Brendan Taylor.
Punjab Kings opened the bidding at the base price and no other team opted to take the in-demand player, who has already featured in tournaments in UAE and Sri Lanka since the T20 World Cup.
King Raza is here to rule! 👑#IPL2023 #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #TATAIPLAuction #SikandarRaza @SRazaB24 pic.twitter.com/3egeg1IP0Y
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 23, 2022
In addition to the IPL gig, Raza is also scheduled to compete in the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League and the International International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE in 2023.
Raza impressed with his consistent performances in the T20 World Cup in Australia where Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan in the Super 12 stage.
He averages 20.98 in T20Is with a strike rate of 128.86. With the ball, Raza has picked 38 scalps at an economy rate of 7.18.
Meanwhile Punjab Kings also signed England all-rounder Sam Curran in the auction for Rs. 18.25 crore ($2.23 million) which made him the most expensive player in IPL auction history.
Curran is the son of former the late former Zimbabwe international and coach Kevin Curran and was raised in Zimbabwe before relocating to England to further his cricket career.