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Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza has been shortlisted for three major International Cricket Council (ICC) awards, including the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy which celebrates the overall best-performing men’s cricketer.
He is also in the running for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year and the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year accolades.
The ICC unveiled the full list of players shortlisted for the ICC Awards 2022 this Friday, highlighting the star performers from across the men’s and women’s games during a blockbuster year of cricket.
For the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, Raza is nominated alongside Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, New Zealand paceman Tim Southee and England’s Ben Stokes, who is seeking to claim the prize for the second time after his maiden win in 2019.
In the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year category, the Zimbabwe star is pitted against Azam, Shai Hope (West Indies), and Adam Zampa (Australia).
Apart from Raza, the other nominees for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year accolade are Sam Curran (England), Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), and Suryakumar Yadav (India).
Shortlists for the ICC Awards 2022 categories were determined by a specialist panel of cricket writers and broadcasters, identifying the nominees based on statistics and overall achievements in international cricket throughout the calendar year.
Raza has been enjoying a terrific run of form this year.
He was named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for August 2022, becoming the first Zimbabwean to win the prestigious accolade.
The talented all-rounder clinched the award after he scored three centuries against Bangladesh and India.
Raza was instrumental in claiming the ODI series victory for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh thanks to unbeaten scores of 135 and 117 which came during two superb run-chases.
He followed this up with a fine 115 against India in the final ODI in Harare, albeit in a losing cause.
In addition to his batting feats, he took seven key wickets during August, cementing his growing all-round credentials and seeing him rise to a career-high position of fourth in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings.
Raza then found himself nominated for the second time in three months when he was shortlisted for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award for October after he played a key role in Zimbabwe’s qualification through to the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Scoring 145 runs and taking nine wickets at a formidable average of 14.66 from his six T20Is, he won three Player of the Match awards at the global showpiece, including for his contribution in the wins against Ireland (82 not out) and the shock result against Pakistan (3/25).
Voting in the ICC Awards 2022 will commence next week where the ICC Voting Academy will submit their selections alongside global cricket fans, who will once again be encouraged to vote at icc-cricket.com for their winners.
The award winners will be announced later in January 2023.
ICC Awards 2022 – Shortlists:
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Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam (Pakistan), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Tim Southee (New Zealand), Ben Stokes (England)
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Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Smriti Mandhana (India), Beth Mooney (Australia), Nat Sciver (England)
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ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year: Jonny Bairstow (England), Usman Khawaja (Australia), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Ben Stokes (England)
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ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Babar Azam (Pakistan), Shai Hope (West Indies), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Adam Zampa (Australia)
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ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Alyssa Healy (Australia), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Nat Sciver (England)
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ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Sam Curran (England), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Suryakumar Yadav (India)
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ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Nida Dar (Pakistan), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Smriti Mandhana (India), Tahlia McGrath (Australia)
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ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year: Finn Allen (New Zealand), Marco Jansen (South Africa), Arshdeep Singh (India), Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan)
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ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Yastika Bhatia (India), Darcie Brown (Australia), Alice Capsey (England), Renuka Singh (India)
SOURCE: ZIMBABWE CRICKET