Sikandar Raza — Chitwan Rhinos all-rounder, NPL 2026

Player details

Season 3 numbers

Batting — Season 3

Bowling — Season 3

Fifty-four runs in three innings, at a strike rate of 138.46 — the fastest scoring in the verified Chitwan squad — and two wickets in three matches with the ball. The innings: 15 against the Royals in Match 11, 37 off 16 against Pokhara in Match 17, and 2 against Kathmandu in Match 20. The bowling: 0 for 26, 0 for 19, then 2 for 19 in the Kathmandu game. Every Chitwan result is on the NPL Results page.

The batting average of 18.00 undersells the innings that mattered. Raza’s value in this side is not accumulation — it is the over that changes a total, the spell that breaks a partnership. Three games in, the 37 against Pokhara is the proof of concept.

The 37 off 16

Against Pokhara Avengers in Match 17, Raza made 37 from 16 balls — four sixes, two fours — in an innings that turned a par total into a winning one. Chitwan made 151 for 6 and won by 30 runs; without the late acceleration, the total would have been chaseable, and the game would have been a contest instead of a comfortable win.

Nine thousand international runs do not come from one method — the technique adapts, rebuilding when early wickets fall, accelerating when the innings needs lifting. The 37 was the finisher’s version of that adaptability: in late, out early, and the total 20 runs better for it.

The Nepal connection

He has been to Nepal before: 129 runs and four wickets in five matches for Biratnagar Warriors in the 2021 Everest Premier League. The Nepal connection predates the contract — he has played in these conditions, before these crowds, before the NPL existed.

The 2022 T20 World Cup made him a global name: decisive in the wins over Ireland and Pakistan, the tournament’s standout all-round story. At 40, the arc is the victory lap that keeps winning — a T20 captain, a World Cup giant-killer, a league-title winner on three continents, arriving as the most decorated overseas name the Rhinos have ever signed.

The run-in, through the overseas star

Chitwan are fourth after Match 21, with five points from five games and a net run rate of +0.009. The full table is on the NPL Points Table, and the remaining fixtures are on the NPL Schedule. Two league games are left: Janakpur Bolts on Friday 13 November and Karnali Yaks on Sunday 15 November. Win both and the Rhinos reach nine points — enough to guarantee a playoff place.

For Raza, the run-in is where a player of his record earns his signing: the middle-order power and the off-spin in games where a playoff place is on the line. The 37 against Pokhara was the trailer; the last two games are the feature. Every Chitwan result is on the Nepal Premier League hub — follow it all on SialTV.