Rizwan Hussain first caught my attention in when, from complete obscurity, he quietly climbed the charts in the QeA trophy (FC) last season after scoring on very difficult wickets. He ended up scoring around 500 runs (tenth highest) in eight games with four fifties and one century at a strike rate of 61. IIRC the only reason he didn’t finish higher was because he was playing for such a weak region. Unfortunately no one had any info or footage on him at that time.
The first chance to watch him in a televised game came during the recent Pakistan Cup (April/May 2018). I had hoped he would play the whole tournament but Ahmed Shahzad only played him in two games. Rizwan’s first innings in the tournament was 67 (71) on a very flat wicket (his side chased 372!). Initial thoughts at that time were Rizwan was composed and his game was mainly based on rotating the strike and accumulating runs, with the occasional bit of aggression when it was in his zone. He has played well in the ongoing National T20 Cup (the first time he has had the chance to show off his T20 game) which in some sense vindicates his selection by IU for PSL4.
Observations from his complete televised innings from Pakistan Cup/National T20 Cup (i.e. not just highlights):
i. Rizwan has excellent timing (bat swing is golf like). His batting is a blend of mechanical and easy on the eye. Rizwan has good wrists and his modus operandi is to rotate the strike by dropping the ball/playing the ball through midwicket. He does this even if it is bowled on a fifth/sixth stump line which can get him into trouble (I come back to this later).
ii. His stance and trigger movement, especially against pacers, reminds me of Cook (watch his complete innings, not just highlights and you will see what I mean). Like Cook he is strong off his legs and square of the wicket, particularly on the offside, and he cuts anything a tad short. Unlike Cook, he actually has a power game. There is a lazy elegance to some of Rizwan’s shots; he hits through the line beautifully and his hitting area is in the V, especially between wide mid-on and straight down the ground.
iii. He is very confident against spin and sweeps well. To date, he has played pace okay but the pitches he has played on have been pretty slow (lifeless in the case of the Pakistan Cup) so too early to judge his game against pace.
Things to work on/Points to Note:
i. He favours the onside. The one time he tried playing a drive in his 67 in the Pakistan Cup he was bowled by Hammad Azam. His innings in the T20 Cup show he can drive through the offside but he nevertheless needs to work on aspects of his offside game, particularly (i) when it comes to rotating the strike and (ii) against pacers. He seems to be particularly limited when it comes to hitting it through cover/extra cover (yet that is where sides are putting their fields!) The few times bowlers have got it right to him, Rizwan has ended up getting frustrated and swiping across the line.
ii. Has looked uncomfortable against the short ball at times.
iii. Rizwan’s defence is a little loose at times and at times he plays away from the body. This was a surprise given how good a FC season he had last season on some very difficult tracks. It’s not a huge issue in white ball cricket but something for him to work on in red ball cricket.
Summary
He is obviously talented and he has played well in the T20 Cup, but he has been helped in his reent performances by the fact opposition sides haven’t done their homework and bowled to his strengths and set the wrong fields (can write more on this if people want me to). The true test will be how he fares against sides who actually do their homework and set the right fields/bowl in the right areas. Also want to see him play on better wickets (particularly to assess his game against pace). In other words, good going but he is yet to be properly tested.
