Worcestershire have signed Zimbabwe T20 captain Sikandar Raza to play in this summer's T20 Blast tournament.

The 39-year-old Pakistan-born all-rounder will replace Australia left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis after he was withdrawn from his deal by Cricket Australia.

Raza has played more than 300 international matches for Zimbabwe across all formats and led his team to a stunning 23-run win over Australia

in Colombo on Friday at the T20 World Cup, which is being held in India and Sri Lanka.

"Sikandar's stats in T20 cricket speak for themselves and as a side who want to kick on in the Blast and challenge for the trophy, we know the importance of having real quality in key areas," Pears head coach Alan Richardson told the club website.

"With Ben (Dwarshuis) unable to join us, we wanted to make sure we had someone with international pedigree and who can impact the game in all three facets, so we were very keen to get Sikandar on board as soon as we knew he was available."

Raza has played 345 T20 games across multiple franchises including the Indian Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Pakistan Super League and the SA20 in South Africa.

He also played for Manchester Originals in The Hundred in 2024 and scored a half-century at Trent Bridge in Zimbabwe's only Test match of their tour of England in 2025.

Raza's stint with the Pears will be his second in the competition after he played in the 2024 version with Northamptonshire, scoring 206 runs at an average of 41 and taking two wickets in his eight matches.