Mohammad Rizwan who replaced former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed as wicketkeeper-batter has not looked back and has been Pakistan’s highest scorer in the shortest format.
In 55 Twenty20 matches, he has scored 1,639 runs at a stunning average of 51 and a decent strike rate of 129. After Pakistan were beaten by Sri Lanka at home 3/0 in 2020, Rizwan got a permanent place in the Pakistan side and has made it count. His scores in the last 27 innings have been 89, 104, 51, 42, 74, 0, 73, 0, 82, 13, 91, 63, 37, 76, 46, 79, 33, 8, 79, 15, 67, 11, 39, 40, 78, 38 and 87 and has been the highest scorer for his team, which made him win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year Award for 2021.
He has also superbly lead his franchise Multan Sultans from the front and has taken them in to the final of this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL). His team has lost just one game in 11 matches and are favourites to win the PSL. Rizwan has been a calm and an able leader both on and off the field. His teammates love him for his never-day-die attitude.
Andy Flower, the head coach of Multan Sultans, has gone on record to say that Riwan has got all the right qualities of a captain and his body language on the field is very positive. There is no doubt that Rizwan, after the arrival, has brought spring in Pakistan’s steps, especially in the shortest format where Pakistan made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in UAE last year.
