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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE all-rounder Sikandar Raza is set to miss the upcoming Domestic Twenty20 competition as he has returned to Bangladesh to feature in the Asian country’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. 

The Domestic Twenty20 tournament, which will feature Zimbabwe Cricket’s five franchises, is expected to take off next Thursday in Harare with the final set for the following week on March 30. 

Rocks coach Shepherd Makunura yesterday said Raza will be missed. The 35-year-old played a key role in the just-ended domestic Pro50 Championship and was crowned Player of the Tournament despite losing the final to Mountaineers last Sunday. 

Makunura said the absence of one of his key players was a setback in their quest for their first Domestic Twenty20 title. 

“He is a big player and his absence will definitely be felt. But we still have got some youngsters that can step in and fill in the gap. So we are looking forward to the competition. 

“We just played another final (last Sunday) and we have given our players some rest. They will return on March 18th (tomorrow) to start preparations for the Domestic Twenty20 Competition,” said Makunura. Last year the Masvingo-based franchise finished third after beating Mountaineers by two wickets in the third place play-off. Raza missed the last edition after he had undergone a successful surgery on his arm and was forced to sit out for some months. Raza, who was recently in Bangladesh for T20 Cricket, flew back to the Asian country this week to feature in their prestigious List A competition 

He made a bright start with both bat and ball as his team Shinepukur Cricket Club made a winning start in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League yesterday.

Shinepukur Cricket Club beat Mohameddan Cricket Club by 41 runs in their first match of the List A competition, in Mirpur. Raza, who featured for Rocks in the domestic Pro50 Championship final on Sunday, was thrown into the fray just a day after his arrival and scored 42 runs in the middle order. Shinepukur made 250/7 before reducing their opponents 209 all out. Raza was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 2-36. 

The 35-year-old has made impressions in the Asian country where he was involved in the Bangladesh Premier League with Khulna Tigers last month. 

This time he was signed by Shinepukur Cricket Cub as their sole overseas player for this year’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. The List A tournament started on Tuesday and will conclude on April 28, with 11 teams taking part. 

Apart from Raza, former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who plays for Mohammedan Sporting, Afghanistan middle-order batter Najibullah Zadran and a couple of Indian cricketers are among those taking part in the competition as the overseas players this season. 

The organisers did not allow overseas cricketers in the Dhaka Premier League in the previous two seasons, but they have decided to allow one foreign player in the XI this year. The DPL features 11 teams, which will play each other once in a round-robin format. The top six teams then play each other in the Super League once. The bottom two teams from the league phase will be relegated to Dhaka’s first division league.