The Rise of Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan has now joined up with the Sussex team ahead of our second County Championship fixture away to Derbyshire tomorrow. Saj Sadiq, is a cricket journalist that regular writes for Wisden, The Cricketer and PakPassion.net among others and has written a piece on the rise of Rizwan, who is widely renowned as one of the best wicket-keeper batsman in world cricket.

The atmosphere was electric, the stakes were high, the tension was palpable, and traffic had stopped flowing on most of the streets in both India and Pakistan, and no doubt in many cricket-loving towns and cities around the world.

After all this was no ordinary contest. It was the much-awaited iconic Pakistan v India encounter in the T20 World Cup in Dubai last year. India, on paper, were the clear favourites, a side blessed with strength and brilliance in all areas. Pakistan had proven talent in the shape of Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and of course, the indomitable wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan, but for many the team in green were the underdogs.

Whilst the Pakistani bowlers set the scene with a disciplined display to restrict India to a very reachable 151/7, the spectacular and assured 152 run unbroken partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan is what caught the eye of the cricketing world. It was a batting display that made many sit-up and really take note of the skill levels of Rizwan.

Audacity and simplicity were the hallmarks of Mohammad Rizwan’s pugnacious 55-ball innings where he took on Jasprit Bumrah and co. He remained unbeaten on 79 as he took Pakistan to one of their most convincing wins ever over their arch-rivals. In the process, he also proved to fans and critics alike that he is a player capable of extraordinary achievements and a man who doesn’t shy away from the pressure of the big occasion.

Mohammad Rizwan's rise from a steady domestic performer waiting for opportunities, to the title-winning captain of Multan Sultans in the 6th edition of the Pakistan Super League and then to a mainstay for Pakistan in all three formats has been nothing short of incredible. His crucial role in Pakistan's 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign gained him many admirers and he has continued to impress cricket fans around the world with his performances, humility and fighting spirit.

A humble man at heart and one whose family was initially against him choosing cricket as a profession, he is indebted to his father for his guidance and advice to strive to become a good human being, regardless of whatever profession he chose to pursue. His father’s words “whatever you do as a profession, just make your country proud”, still ring in Rizwan’s ears and this is the mantra that he follows wholeheartedly.

A smile on his face when facing the toughest of opponents, Rizwan is known for his ability to stand-up and be counted when his team needs it the most. But beyond the game itself, Rizwan with his exemplary behaviour on and off the field has proven himself to be a fine ambassador for cricket and for his country which is a character trait appreciated by his teammates and opposition alike. Play hard, play fair and enjoy the game is the philosophy that has won the Peshawar-born 29 year old many friends and admirers around the world.

Not a believer in the hype of playing big shots that seem to be the hallmark of many of his contemporaries, Rizwan is known for pacing his innings to perfection. In his own words, playing a match-winning innings is about “knowing your limitations and strengths and learning to use them to your advantage”. And this is a technique that he has put into practice in Test cricket as he explained, “I have always felt that if you can prove yourself and perform in Test cricket then that puts you in high regard around the world.”

And as he shown time and again for his country, his prowess is not just limited to one format. Whilst Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign last year came to a juddering stop in their defeat against the eventual title winners, Australia, Rizwan’s reputation as one of the most dependable batters in world cricket was established in that game as he became the first batter in T20I history to aggregate over 1000 runs in a single calendar year. Equally dependable in the red-ball format or white-ball formats, Rizwan has become hot property and is one of modern-day cricket’s most highly rated players.

This is the same all-round talent that fans of Sussex will be looking forward to witnessing this summer when Rizwan makes an appearance for the club for the majority of the 2022 season. Joining Sussex following the conclusion of Australia’s historic tour of Pakistan, Rizwan will be available in both Championship and T20 cricket until the end of the Vitality Blast in mid-July.

Following in the footsteps of former Pakistani players to have played for Sussex such as Javed Miandad, Mushtaq Ahmed, Yasir Arafat and Rana Naved, Rizwan is expected to become another Pakistani who the Sussex fans take to their hearts.

 If history is any guide, they are in for a treat. Rizwan, during Pakistan’s three-match Test series in 2020, enjoyed significant success in English conditions, averaging over 40, and was named Pakistan’s player of the series. So impressed was Nasser Hussain with the energy and determination that Rizwan brought that he labelled him as “the best for a long, long time” when it came to touring wicketkeepers which is also a sentiment that Sussex fans are likely to walk away with this summer.