ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018: Sikandar Raza awarded Man of the series
ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018: Sikandar Raza awarded Man of the series
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Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who was the man-of-the-series in the recently concluded cricket World Cup Qualifier, said the trophy would be ‘a painful reminder’ of how his team could not make it to the 2019 World Cup, which will feature 10 teams compared to 14 teams in 2015.

In his speech after Afghanistan’s win over West Indies in the final, Raza also threw his support for Associate cricket teams and hailed Nepal for getting registered as an ODI side. He was also critical of the ICC's new rules for Associate Nations, and was quite scathing of the cricket body's move in front of top officials, including Dave Richardson.

"When I started playing cricket, I thought it was to unite countries, players of different background coming together to play this beautiful sport. Unfortunately, you'll see that's not going to happen in next year's World Cup. It's certainly quite a tough pill to swallow."

Sikandar Raza had an impressive tournament, after he scored 319 runs with an impressive average of 53.17 and took 15 wickets at 17.60, with three Man of the Match awards. However, instead of reflecting on his performance, Raza praised the hard work put up by Associate Teams. The 2019 World Cup will be the first time that Zimbabwe will not participate in a World Cup since 1979.

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