Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter, credited Indian cricket dynamo Virat Kohli for emphasizing the significance of team triumphs over personal statistics.
Though Kohli’s remarkable accomplishments include scoring more than 26,700 runs in global matches, he’s best known for his knack at securing wins for India. Data shows, of the star player’s average score of over 66, an impressive 65% was made during victorious Indian matches across different game formats.
In a chat with Cricbuzz during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Rizwan explained his adaptations to varying roles during ODI and T20I games.
“Firstly the teams that you are representing keep that [role] in front and if you think of yourself in that case… like players who think like let me save myself, he won’t go far. Those players who look at averages are average players. If someone is performing it will be there in the stats for people to see, like say India’s Virat Kohli, he is getting his average higher but he is not focusing on that because average players looks at average and big players will look at the team and the situation and my focus remains on what is the requirement of the team.”
Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan Added:
“The team says Rizwan looks at the board and plays accordingly. I maintain the same thing in my own life too but it is not easy. In T20 playing the new ball and in ODI go after 25 overs when the ball is a bit old that is not easy and it is a mind game.”
Mohammad Rizwan
Despite appearing in 74 ODIs and 90 T20Is, Rizwan has primarily batted in the middle order in the 50-over format, opening in the latter.
Mohammad Rizwan’s impressive white-ball record
In 2015, Mohammad Rizwan first played for Pakistan in two different game formats. From then on, he turned into a key player for his team.
This 31-year-old player has stunning T20I batting statistics, with nearly 3,000 runs. His average score is 48.86, and he has a rate of 127.55. His record includes one century and 26 more half-centuries. For Pakistan, Rizwan has started at bat in short games 63 out of his 78 turns, with an average above 52.
However, in one-day internationals, he has always batted in the middle order.
Rizwan’s cricket prowess is displayed in his 74 ODI games. He has scored over 2,088 runs with an average tally of 40.15 and a batting pace of 89.81. He’s managed three centuries and 13 half-centuries. Out of his 67 batting turns, he’s claimed the No. 4 spot 37 times. The rest, 30 times, he’s been placed between the No. 5 and No. 7 positions.
Nonetheless, Mohammad Rizwan has now established himself as Pakistan’s No. 4 ODI player, with an impressive average of 48.50.