Determined Mohammad Rizwan has turned the tables within last year and came a long way from the second choice to become one of the current key players for Pakistan in all formats.
The wicket-keeper batsman turned 29 today. He might have not celebrated this birthday due to being in quarantine for the remaining PSL 6 in Abu Dhabi, but this year was so special for the lad.
Here we take a look back at Rizwan’s successful last year:
Most Test runs for Pakistan
Rizwan left other batters behind in Test format which he often used to play even when Sarfraz was the skipper. But last year was exceptional for Rizwan in the longer format as he scored 595 runs at an average of 49.58.
Rizwan is currently at number 20 in ICC Test Batting Rankings.
Read: ‘My future belongs to Allah, no coach or captain can ruin it’ Rizwan
From makeshift opener to regular opener
Rizwan stunned the cricket fraternity by proving himself as an opener in the T20I format. The right-handed batsman got a chance to open Pakistan’s batting in New Zealand but who knew he will become a regular opener.
He averaged 79.14 as an opener, the highest among Pakistanis so far. Earlier, his average in 15 T20Is was 16.81. During the last year, Rizwan scored the highest 554 runs in 12 innings in T20Is.
His opening batting performances earned him his career-best 10th ICC T20I batting rankings.
Hundred across all three formats
Rizwan changed perceptions about him being a defensive batter. The latter scored 505 runs at an average of 103 and strike rate of 145.07 in his last nine T20I innings.
More importantly, Rizwan scored a maiden T20I ton against South Africa at home which made him only the second Pakistani batter after Ahmed Shahzad to score a hundred in all three formats. Later on, Babar Azam achieved this feat by scoring a T20I ton against Zimbabwe in April.
Laurels
Rizwan was named Test Cricketer of 2020 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He was also named a Wisden Cricketer of the year.
