Rhetoric about a resurgent Rizwan

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan's recent performances have helped him shed the tag of nepotism

KARACHI:

Comebacks in cricket are rarely as glossy as that of Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan. Many cricketers perish as they become comfortably numb while lurking out of the national team, where pressure and expectations are minimal. Many others become complacent and lose focus on why they wanted to play cricket. They don’t play because they enjoy it, they continue playing because they don’t know anything else. The remaining others, they believe they would never be able to make it back and blame it on a conspiracy against them, a bias against their region or something or anything else.

Rizwan might have wondered to join one of the aforementioned clubs too. After making his first-class debut in 2008, he had to wait quite a while before he would play his first match of every format for Pakistan.

He would be asked to represent the Men in Green for the first time in ODIs and T20Is in April 2015 on the tour of Bangladesh. The only thing to remember from that series is that he didn’t play as a wicketkeeper-batsman, but only as a specialist batsman, and a better-than-most fielder.

Pakistan went on to lose the three-match ODI series and the lone T20I. Rizwan would put up performances with the bat and impress in the field, but his place in the team would always be in danger because of the presence of an in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed.

As fate would have it, Sarfaraz’s rise came at the time when Rizwan was still finding his feet in the national squad in the year 2015. One was destined to permanently fill the role of a wicketkeeper-batsman for the next few years and one would stay out, and even if he was in the squad, would only play in the nets: Sarfaraz was the former, Rizwan played the latter role.

Many would start cursing their luck if such a thing happened to them. Many would give up the hope of ever playing as the man behind the stumps and also the man with the willow, but Rizwan’s recent form has shown that he wasn’t just waiting for a chance, he was itching for it.

Since the arrival of Misbahul Haq in the management role with the Pakistan cricket team, the days of Sarfaraz ended and the time of Rizwan started.

Sarfaraz was sacked from captaincy from all formats after a dismal showing in the very first series after Misbah came in. Rizwan replaced him and was made the number one choice for the wicketkeeper-batsman role and as soon as it happened, everyone called it a biased decision.

However, Rizwan has now proven all those allegations wrong.

Rizwan’s unbeaten 104 off 64 deliveries against South Africa on Thursday was his final proof that he isn’t in the team because of nepotism; instead, he has the ability to give Pakistan hope in hopeless situations.

Since his return to the national side in a more permanent role as the wicketkeeper-batsman in 2019, Rizwan has played match-saving or at least face-saving innings on multiple occasions now and also in all three formats.

In Tests, people would love to mention his recent 133 in the second innings against South Africa in the second Test, which helped Pakistan whitewash the hosts. However, it was his scores of 71 and 60 in first and second innings respectively against New Zealand in the first Test, which helped him gather the respect from everyone. Although Pakistan lost the match, but the margin of defeat could have been worse if he hadn’t fought well.

In ODIs, everyone would remember his two centuries in the second and fourth ODIs against Australia in the UAE in March 2019. He proved that he has the ability to stay on the crease for longer periods in the 50-over format.

Lastly, T20Is were the only format where Rizwan hadn’t pulled a rabbit out of the hat for Pakistan. But on Thursday, he did just that when he hit seven sixes to help Pakistan put up a decent score to defend, and eventually win the first T20I.

Rizwan’s return in the Pakistan team at the cost of Sarfaraz seemed unfair in the start, but the Peshawar-born has justified with his recent performances that he deserves to be chosen over the former captain. This fact may still be painful for Sarfaraz’s fans, but if they love cricket and want Pakistan to lift trophies, they would want to see Rizwan and not Sarfaraz behind the wickets in this year’s World T20.