- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,977
M. Rizwan "If people want sacrifices from me, I am willing to even play as a spinner or pacer"
Mohammad Rizwan speaking to the press:
Any special advantage to Pakistan in the UAE given many other players also playing there.
"I have never been a believer in the fact that any one side, including Pakistan, has any special advantage in UAE or anywhere else. All we can say is that the tournament is being held in Asia as I consider UAE to be in Asia. Yes, we have been playing there for a while and we used to say that UAE is our home ground but I never accepted that because the pitches there, from what I understood, were made with soil from Australia or from other parts of the world. So, even if UAE was called our home ground, that was not the case"
"We can see many international players have been playing in UAE, with many players from different countries other than Asian one are playing in the IPL there. Regardless of all this, all I know is that we will have to play some very good cricket in the tournament and I feel that our squad is as good as any other"
Would he sacrifice his opening position to allow Sharjeel or Fakhar to open for Pakistan?
"If people want sacrifice from me then I am even willing to play as a off-spinner or a fast-bowler, I am ready to do that also for the team. I don't have any tension related to this as I have said that before also. My faith in the Almighty is such that I am happy to play as a fielder also"
Working with new consultants Vernon Philander and Matthew Hayden
"It wont be difficult as each player has his own plan and he works towards delivering according to that plan. Last time we had Younis Khan and also Grant Flower - but the main point is that we discuss our plans with the coaches and if they feel they can make some positive changes to that, then we are open to changes and discussion on that"
"Both the new consultants are experienced guys and we will look to learn from that for ourselves and for the sake of Pakistan. If we apply all the learnings from these consultants and other experienced ex-players then the result will be good"
Uncertainty in squad selection to the last moment effecting players mentally?
"This always happens to us ever since the time we started playing cricket. Because sometimes you can have injuries in the squad or other issues and especially since COVID-19 has happened, we are always ready for this sort of situation. So there is no mental effect of this"
"We have only come together since yesterday and the National T20 Cup has been like a gift for us as it has provided us with a great way to practice but our real preparation will start tomorrow, as this is when we will gel as a team and whatever has happened before will have no effect. Before that we weren't together as a team so if some change had been made after that, that could have effected us but this is not the case"
Pressure of the India-Pakistan group stage clash
"Even when you play against a club side, not me but even the superstars of cricket, will have pressure as they will be worried what if a junior player gets you out"
"This India-Pakistan match, we will consider it like any other game. The hype is being created by the Social Media and fans which is fine but in our hearts and minds, we will consider this game the same as one against any other side. Because, if we as players take on the additional pressure of this game, then that wont be good as it has happened before"
"The message from our captain and one that I agree with, is that this match will be considered as a normal game, just like we would with matches against other teams"
Azam Khan or Sarfaraz Ahmed - who would you choose if you were captain?
"If I was captain then that would be a different matter, but to me both players have the same importance and I have worked with both players in the past. My belief is that if the you work hard and Almighty so wills it, anyone can be in the side and that applies to me also"
"I believe that if I am meant to be the UAE, then nothing including COVID will stop me and I will be there"
"If I had the choice and if there was space for 5 wicketkeepers in the side for the WT20 and they deserved it, then I would have taken all 5 in my team"
Will he play attacking cricket in the World Cup?
"I tried to play well in the National T20 Cup and have 200+ runs but I accept that I couldn't improve on a few things that I wanted to do in this tournament."
"There seems to be a mindset amongst some that in T20 you have to score 200+ or 250+. But see in the West Indies we won with lower scores like 140-150 and also have done in Dubai with scores around 160. So it's down to match and pitch conditions and when its been needed, we have even chased down 200+ also"
"Its important that we read pitch conditions properly because when we don't do that and end up on a score which isn't par, then we realize during the game and push our bowlers to help us but at that time the match has gone out of hands"
"If the pitch demands a score like 150-160 then and we realize that, then we can also end up on 180-190 on such pitches"
Mohammad Rizwan speaking to the press:
Any special advantage to Pakistan in the UAE given many other players also playing there.
"I have never been a believer in the fact that any one side, including Pakistan, has any special advantage in UAE or anywhere else. All we can say is that the tournament is being held in Asia as I consider UAE to be in Asia. Yes, we have been playing there for a while and we used to say that UAE is our home ground but I never accepted that because the pitches there, from what I understood, were made with soil from Australia or from other parts of the world. So, even if UAE was called our home ground, that was not the case"
"We can see many international players have been playing in UAE, with many players from different countries other than Asian one are playing in the IPL there. Regardless of all this, all I know is that we will have to play some very good cricket in the tournament and I feel that our squad is as good as any other"
Would he sacrifice his opening position to allow Sharjeel or Fakhar to open for Pakistan?
"If people want sacrifice from me then I am even willing to play as a off-spinner or a fast-bowler, I am ready to do that also for the team. I don't have any tension related to this as I have said that before also. My faith in the Almighty is such that I am happy to play as a fielder also"
Working with new consultants Vernon Philander and Matthew Hayden
"It wont be difficult as each player has his own plan and he works towards delivering according to that plan. Last time we had Younis Khan and also Grant Flower - but the main point is that we discuss our plans with the coaches and if they feel they can make some positive changes to that, then we are open to changes and discussion on that"
"Both the new consultants are experienced guys and we will look to learn from that for ourselves and for the sake of Pakistan. If we apply all the learnings from these consultants and other experienced ex-players then the result will be good"
Uncertainty in squad selection to the last moment effecting players mentally?
"This always happens to us ever since the time we started playing cricket. Because sometimes you can have injuries in the squad or other issues and especially since COVID-19 has happened, we are always ready for this sort of situation. So there is no mental effect of this"
"We have only come together since yesterday and the National T20 Cup has been like a gift for us as it has provided us with a great way to practice but our real preparation will start tomorrow, as this is when we will gel as a team and whatever has happened before will have no effect. Before that we weren't together as a team so if some change had been made after that, that could have effected us but this is not the case"
Pressure of the India-Pakistan group stage clash
"Even when you play against a club side, not me but even the superstars of cricket, will have pressure as they will be worried what if a junior player gets you out"
"This India-Pakistan match, we will consider it like any other game. The hype is being created by the Social Media and fans which is fine but in our hearts and minds, we will consider this game the same as one against any other side. Because, if we as players take on the additional pressure of this game, then that wont be good as it has happened before"
"The message from our captain and one that I agree with, is that this match will be considered as a normal game, just like we would with matches against other teams"
Azam Khan or Sarfaraz Ahmed - who would you choose if you were captain?
"If I was captain then that would be a different matter, but to me both players have the same importance and I have worked with both players in the past. My belief is that if the you work hard and Almighty so wills it, anyone can be in the side and that applies to me also"
"I believe that if I am meant to be the UAE, then nothing including COVID will stop me and I will be there"
"If I had the choice and if there was space for 5 wicketkeepers in the side for the WT20 and they deserved it, then I would have taken all 5 in my team"
Will he play attacking cricket in the World Cup?
"I tried to play well in the National T20 Cup and have 200+ runs but I accept that I couldn't improve on a few things that I wanted to do in this tournament."
"There seems to be a mindset amongst some that in T20 you have to score 200+ or 250+. But see in the West Indies we won with lower scores like 140-150 and also have done in Dubai with scores around 160. So it's down to match and pitch conditions and when its been needed, we have even chased down 200+ also"
"Its important that we read pitch conditions properly because when we don't do that and end up on a score which isn't par, then we realize during the game and push our bowlers to help us but at that time the match has gone out of hands"
"If the pitch demands a score like 150-160 then and we realize that, then we can also end up on 180-190 on such pitches"
