Sikandar Raza says ‘no regrets’ on inability to play for Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan-born Zimbabwe Test all-rounder Sikandar Raza shared that he never felt regret about not representing the country of his birth at the international level.

Raza, during an interview on Geo News’ programme, Score Eid Special, was asked to share his feelings regarding his inability to represent Pakistan.

In response, the all-rounder denied any forms of regret, explaining that although he was born in Pakistan, he played all of his cricket in Zimbabwe.

He further credited Zimbabwe Cricket for showing ‘faith’ in him during the early days of his professional career despite his incomplete documentation.

“I never felt even a little bit of regret for not playing for Pakistan and the reason for that is I played all of my cricket in Zimbabwe, said Raza.

“I remember when my documents were not ready to play for Zimbabwe, they still spent their time and money on me.

“They kept faith in me and selected me for Zimbabwe A matches and for the national academies as well. Zimbabwe respects me for where I am and who I am.”

The 39-year-old recently made waves with his miraculous participation in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 final between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators.

Raza represented Zimbabwe in their one-off Test against England in Nottingham, which concluded on Saturday night as per the Pakistan Standard Time (PST), less than 24 hours before the commencement of the summit clash of the marquee league.

The all-rounder, however, made an astonishing return to the Qalandars squad, joining them just minutes ahead of the toss for the highly-anticipated PSL 10 final against leaders Quetta Gladiators.

His timely arrival proved beneficial for the home side as he played a match-winning cameo of 22 runs and fittingly hit the winning runs on the penultimate delivery by smashing a low full toss from Faheem Ashraf for a boundary.