"I’m not fazed by the competition" - Mohammad Rizwan by the emergence of wicketkeepers in PSL 2023
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan reiterated that he isn't unfazed by the emergence of young glovesmen in the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
While Mohammad Haris was a part of the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup 2022, Azam Khan is slowly coming up the ladder. Besides his wicketkeeping skills, Azam's batting prowess has impressed one and all. Peshawar Zalmi wicketkeeper Haseebullah has also made headlines for his stellar performance with the bat.
However, Rizwan is unperturbed by all of this and said he wants as many wicketkeepers as possible on the Pakistan side.
“I’d love to have not one or two but at least five wicket-keepers in the Pakistan squad," he told reporters. "But they need to meet the required standards for it. I’m not fazed by the competition; in fact, I’m myself trying to search for more wicket-keepers in Pakistan."
Your team is 3 for 3. You walk in under intense pressure. And you smash a 27 ball half century in your first PSL game at just 19 years of age. Take a bow Haseebullah Khan! A player with a big future... #HBLPSL8 https://t.co/83NadALIHo
Mohammad Rizwan further stressed that these wicketkeepers need to replicate their domestic performance in the international arena.
“I’ve recently seen Haseebullah, he is performing well and his technique is really good,” he said. “However, it is important for players [performing in the domestic circuit] to play at the level that is required as a Pakistan player, otherwise the performances go to waste."
Haseebullah, 19, smacked 50 off 29 deliveries in his debut PSL game, including four boundaries and three sixes, to guide Peshawar home against Karachi Kings on Wednesday, March 1.
"I didn’t deserve to play in the next series" - Mohammad Rizwan on being dropped from the Test squad against New Zealand
Player of the Match in the second Test ✅
Player of the Series ✅
A dream comeback for Sarfaraz Ahmed 🤩
#WTC23 #PAKvNZ https://t.co/SBcgLzfPRO
While Mohammad Rizwan has been a top performer in limited-overs cricket, he has failed to replicate the same in red-ball cricket. He recently revealed that he himself asked the team management to drop him.
“You can ask the head coach Saqlain Mushtaq that what I told him after the end of the England Test series,” Rizwan told Cricket Pakistan. “I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because that is what I wanted. I personally thought that since I wasn’t able to perform, I didn’t deserve to play in the next series."
Rizwan was replaced by former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who had a stellar series against the Blackcaps. He amassed 335 runs at an incredible average of 83.75 in the two Tests and was the highest run-getter in the New Zealand series.