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Cricket

T20 World Cup: The incredible rise and rise of Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan has gone from being a bench-warmer to a world-class batter for Pakistan

Mohammad Rizwans class and talent has been on display at the T20 World Cup [Source: AP]
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Mohammad Rizwan's class and talent has been on display at the T20 World Cup [Source: AP]

By

Anjishnu Roy

Published: 27 Oct 2021 9:37 AM GMT

Mohammad Rizwan's mild-mannered smile and kind eyes do not give it away but he is an absolute fiend if you're facing him in international cricket, and especially in the shortest format of the sport. It might seem routine now to see him go out and dominate games for Pakistan like he did in the blockbuster clash against India but that was far from imaginable even until a couple of years ago.

Since making his international debut in 2015, Rizwan had been a bright but extremely erratic and inconsistent understudy to Sarfaraz Ahmed. In his initial days, Rizwan was a technically limited batter and although he got off to a positive start in international cricket, averaging 60 in eight innings against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe, his flaws got exposed against better sides. To make matters worse for him, Sarfaraz was not only the man with the gloves but also the captain for Pakistan across all three formats which made getting game time a highly unlikely proposition.

There was also a fan-fuelled rivalry between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan

It was only after Sarfaraz Ahmed fell out of favour and got deposed from captaincy that Mohammad Rizwan found his door back to the Pakistan senior side. World Test Championship series in Australia, England, and New Zealand followed and Rizwan seemed like a reborn cricketer. Instead of the nervous, shaky bundle of energy he was in his initial years, the man from Peshawar looked more composed, fully formed player aware of his own strengths and especially his own weaknesses.

While he flourished in red-ball cricket expressing more adaptability on his comeback to the international cricket, it was in T20Is where he made people stand up and take notice. Rizwan's rapid rise in T20I rankings is suggestive of the same. He was ranked 159 in the shortest format of the sport in ICC's rankings but then following a rich vein of form, leapfrogged to 42 while facing South Africa in February 2021. Rizwan is ranked fourth in the world at the moment.

Not only has he gone from being dropped by his own PSL franchise to becoming a 'little master' of the format, Mohammad Rizwan has shown traits on surfaces where historically Pakistani batters have faltered by the bundle. This was on show at New Zealand especially where his knock of 89 runs was the sign of things to come.

No batter has dominated T20 cricket in 2021 as much as Mohammad Rizwan has. He began the record-breaking year by smashing an unbeaten 104 against South Africa, becoming only the second player from Pakistan to get to the three-figure-mark in all three formats of international cricket. He followed that up with seven further half-centuries, including the prized one against India in the T20 World Cup.

Mohammad Rizwan has leapfrogged Virat Kohli and now has the highest average in T20Is among batters with over 1000 runs [Source: Getty]

He has collected 112 runs in two matches at the T20 World Cup at an average of 112. Rizwan's T20I average in 2021 is 52.77 the highest in the world among players with over 1000 runs. Mohammad Rizwan who shared a warm embrace with Virat Kohli following the successful run-chase in the opening fixture has overtaken the Indian captain's phenomenal average as well.

The opening combination for Pakistan featuring Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan has become one of their greatest strengths in this T20 World Cup. The dynamic duo add a lot of stability, consistency, impeccable stroke-making, as well as the necessary explosiveness. Rizwan has gone from a bench-warmer to a world-class player who has helped Pakistan return to its golden age in T20I cricket and at his prime, he will be looking to deliver the coveted World Cup.

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