"The cricketers from Pakistan and India want to play against each other" - Muhammad Rizwan
Muhammad Rizwan has revealed that Pakistani and Indian cricketers are quite keen to play against each other.
Although the two neighboring countries have met in ICC tournaments in recent years, they last played a bilateral series almost a decade ago. While Pakistan won the ODI series in India by a 2-1 margin, the T20I series ended 1-1.
While speaking to the media ahead of the ODI series against West Indies, Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan said:
“The cricketers from Pakistan and India want to play against each other, but the state-level affairs are not in the control of players.”
Due to the political tension between the two nations, Pakistani players are not allowed to participate in the IPL as well.
Muhammad Rizwan heaps praise on Sussex teammate Cheteshwar Pujara
Things you love to see 🤝🇮🇳🇵🇰
The Indo-Pak duo of Cheteshwar Pujara (186*) & Mohammad Rizwan (74*) are batting together for Sussex 😍
#CricketTwitter #India #Pakistan https://t.co/8jY9Fow9cv
Speaking about his relationship with India’s middle-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara during their County stint at Sussex, Rizwan said:
“I had discussions with Pujara regarding cricket and learned a lot of things from him. We are no different as players, we are one cricketing family"
Rizwan recently also praised Pujara, saying that he wishes to have the Indian's focus and concentration levels. He stated:
"Pujara is a very nice guy. I really admire his concentration and focus. I believe Younis Khan, Fawad Alam and Che Pujara are three players I rate very highly in this regard."
Pujara and Rizwan made their debuts for Sussex in the same match, with the Indian middle-order batter taking to Twitter to wish the Pakistani batter on his birthday on Wednesday, 1 June.
Happy birthday @iMRizwanPak! Have a fabulous year ahead. https://t.co/iUOjvDT2hx
In a recent interview with Cricwick, the 30-year-old also spoke highly of Virat Kohli, saying:
"Virat Kohli is a champion player, but the stage he is currently going through a rough patch. As cricketers, we can only pray for him. He works very hard and sets high standards for himself. It's natural for any player to go through such phase. There are good times and then there are bad times. All good players who have scored centuries, have been out for a duck too. This is a cycle of life. At the same time, I am hopeful that with his hard work, he will be able to control things once again."
Pakistan's next international assignment is the ODI series against West Indies, starting on June 8 in Multan.