Akif Raja

Akif Raja (born 24 November 1992) is a Pakistani-born cricketer who plays for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team.^[1] He played in one first-class match for Lahore Shalimar in January 2014 in the 2013–14 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan.^[2][3]

Akif Raja

Personal information
Full name	Raja Akifullah Khan
Born	(1992-11-24) 24 November 1992 (age 32) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-fast
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	United Arab Emirates
ODI debut (cap 90)	6 February 2022 v Oman
Last ODI	4 June 2022 v USA
T20I debut (cap 57)	8 October 2021 v Ireland
Last T20I	21 May 2025 v Bangladesh
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I Matches 5 19 Runs scored 0 74 Batting average 0.00 37.00 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 0 28 Balls bowled 228 324 Wickets 3 15 Bowling average 53.33 30.27 5 wickets in innings 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 1/19 3/22 Catches/stumpings 2/- 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 11 July 2025

In October 2021, he was named in the UAE's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the 2021 Summer T20 Bash tournament.^[4] He made his T20I debut on 8 October 2021, for the UAE against Ireland.^[5] In November 2021, he was named in the UAE's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2021 Namibia Tri-Nation Series.^[6]

In February 2022, Raja was named in the UAE's ODI squad for their series against Oman.^[7] He made his ODI debut on 6 February 2022, for the UAE against Oman.^[8]

Personal life

Raja was born on 24 November 1992 in Lahore, Pakistan. He is the son of Nasreen Akhtar and Raja Arif Ullah Khan; his father died of COVID-19. He moved to the UAE in 2017, initially working with NMC Health in Abu Dhabi and later with MGM Medical Center in Sharjah.^[9]