T20 World Cup 2022: Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza, who claimed three crucial wickets in four overs by just giving 25 runs against Pakistan is flying high after his team scored a thrilling win over Pak. However, had he not been rejected by the Pakistan Air Force, he would have been a pilot in his native country. According to various reports, 36-year-old Raza was born in Pakistan and dreamt of being a PAF fighter pilot.


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His family later moved to Zimbabwe and Raza pursued his higher education in Scotland. However, destiny had something else for Raza as he landed in Zimbabwe's team and made his international debut in 2013 after playing domestic cricket. 


Raza said that he picked up cricket late and may be making up for the lost time. The all-rounder said that for Zimbabweans, most of the learning is on the job. 


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In the post-match presentation after the win against Pakistan, Raza also said that a video clip of Ricky Ponting inspired him to go for a kill. "I was excited today, and I watched a clip by Ricky Ponting in the morning. That motivated me to come up with this performance. I would like to thank Ricky Ponting for that," he said.


Raza was referring to Ponting's video in which the former Australian captain had hailed Raza's performance. "He is 36 but he's playing with a more youthful exuberance now. Looks like he is 26 again, he is running around the field, enjoying himself and leading from the front," Ponting said.


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He shared that his friends and family had tears in their eyes for Raza. Raza was declared Player of the Match for his crucial performance. "The way our seamers started at the top, was just unbelievable and the way we backed it up in the field and the way we kept believing, really lost for words," Raza had said.


This was the second defeat for Pakistan and the same has now made Pakistan's road to the semi-finals tough as it now depends on the outcome of other matches as well.