Zimbabwe cricket team star Sikandar Raza will have an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world leading cricketers in the shortest format of the game after being signed up by the Khulna Tigers for the upcoming season of the Bangladesh Premier League.
The 35-year-old allrounder will be the country’s lone representative in the upcoming BPL which will take place between January 21 and February 18.
Raza took to social media to express his excitement ahead of the tournament.
Can’t wait to be back for BPL and this time with #KhulnaTigers#inshallah see you soon #Bangladesh 🇧🇩 #Alhamdulillah pic.twitter.com/Ot7AqXKcMO
— Sikandar Raza (@SRazaB24) December 29, 2021
Six teams Khulna Tigers, Chattogram Challengers, Dhaka, Fortune Barishal, Cumilla Victorians and Sylhet Sunrisers will feature in the tournament which will be played in three venues across Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram.
Raza will feature for the Khulna Tigers alongside the Bangladesh duo of Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera among others.
The team will be coached by former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener.
Raza’s participation will however depend on getting clearance from Zimbabwe Cricket. The national cricket team will tour Sri Lanka for a three-match One Day International (ODI) series which begins on January 18.
The Pakistan-born allrounder has become one of the most sought-after Zimbabwean players when it comes to Twenty20 competitions around the world having already featured in competitions in West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Afghanistan and neighbouring South Africa in the past.
Full BPL squads
Khulna Tigers: Mushfiqur Rahim, Thisara Perera, Naveen Ul Huq, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Soumya Sarkar, Seekugge Prasanna, Sikandar Raza, Farhad Reza, Rony Talukdar, Khaled Ahmed, Jaker Ali Anik, Nabil Samad
Chattogram Challengers: Nasum Ahmed, Benny Howell, Kennar Lewis, Afif Hossain, Chadwick Walton, Rayad Emrit, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rejaur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Akbar Ali, Naeem Islam,
Dhaka: Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Naim, Arafat Sunny, Imranuzzaman, Shafiul Islam, Jahurul Islam, Shamsur Rahman, Ebadat Hossain.
Fortune Barishal: Shakib Al Hasan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Danushka Gunathilaka, Chris Gayle, Nurul Hasan, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Towhid Hridoy, Ziaur Rahman, Shafiqul Islam, Saikat Ali, Niroshan Dickwella, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Sarwar Hossain, Irfan Sukkur,
Cumilla Victorians: Mustafizur Rahman, Faf du Plessis, Sunil Narine, Moeen Ali, Liton Das, Shohidul Islam, Kusal Mendis, Oshane Thomas, Ariful Haque, Nahidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Sumon Khan, Mominul Haque, Mahidul Islam, Parvez Hossain, Abu Hider
Sylhet Sunrisers: Taskin Ahmed, Dinesh Chandimal, Kesrick Williams, Colin Alexander, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Ravi Bopara, Angelo Perera, Anamul Haque, Sohag Gazi, Alok Kapali, Muktar Ali, Siraj Ahmed, Mizanur Rahman, Nadif Chowdhury, Jubair Hossain, Shafiul Hayat, Sunzamul Islam