IPL 2023 auction: Virat Kohli's childhood coach believes THIS star all-rounder to spark bidding war

Days ahead of the much-awaited IPL 2023 auction, Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has said that the IPL franchises would not hesitate in starting a bidding war in order to get all-rounder Sikandar Raza in their squad.

According to Sharma, the star allrounder from Zimbabwe will be a hot property during IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday (December 23).

"Sikandar Raza is a great prospect. Not just RCB, but the other teams would also want to go after him. He has a lot of variations up his sleeve when it comes to his bowling. He has won Zimbabwe a lot of matches single-handedly and is a very good package. I am sure all the franchises have reserved a large amount for him,” Raza told India News.

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It is to be noted that 36-year-old Raza is one of the oldest players in the fray but Sharma said that Raza’s age will not be a barrier and franchises will bid for him.

Raza has performed superbly in 2022 and scored three tons on the trot against Bangladesh and India in August 2022. The Zimbabwean star was in good form during T20I World Cup in Australia too as he scored 219 runs in eight matches. Raza also bagged 10 wickets during the tournament.

Raza’s base price at INR 50 lakh and it is expected that he would fetch more than his base price during the auction. 

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Earlier, former India coach Anil Kumble had also backed Raza, saying that Mumbai Indians (MI) should go all guns blazing for the Zimbabwe all-rounder who gave a good account of himself in the year 2022.