[VIDEOS] How has Mohammad Rizwan managed to improve so much?

[Savak]

Everyone always knew that he was the fittest player in the team, an excellent wicket keeper and an excellent runner between the wickets. But his batting was his weaker spot. There was a time when everyone felt Sarfaraz was a better batsman than him. I remember Siqander Bakht making fun of Rizwan's selection where he claimed the team management was only selecting him because of his fitness rather than anyone real cricketing ability. He was most of all mocked for lacking a power game and for not being able to play classy cricketing strokes

How the tide has changed now. What did Rizwan really do to become the player he is today? Worked his backside of at the NHPC? Worked hard and consistently played domestic cricket to improve his game? Hire a batting coach, power hitting coach.

This guy is a great example for so many other players in the team on how to make the most of limited ability

 

[hitthestump]

Younis Khan is a competent coach. Look how well Rizwan is sweeping at the moment.

The added responsibility of VC looks like it's caused him to raise his personal game too. He's always had the right attitude and captaincy will get the best out of him.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Rizwan looked good when we debuted way back in 2014 or so. I think he impressively drove the first few balls for 4 through the off side.

He also maintained a 40+ average in his FC career throughout so it’s now a matter of a player finally getting opportunities and the confidence that comes through performance.

He has improved his power hitting over time - that’s the one improvement I can pinpoint.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

If you actually watched Rizwan before international cricket, he was a very competent batsman. He often lead his team from the front with the bat.

The current Rizwan is one who's adapted his game to the international game because he's always seeking to improve. He's shown to be a high IQ player who was aware of his deficiencies and went to work on them.

 

[Rayyman]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So which of the favors of your Lord <br>would you deny?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Alhumdulillah?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Alhumdulillah</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/UAqj9MkMZK">pic.twitter.com/UAqj9MkMZK</a></p>— Mohammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) <a href="https://twitter.com/iMRizwanPak/status/1360095458400628738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

From Surah Rahman

 

[Jabo]

he hasn't

stick him outside of Pakistan and he'll be worse than sohail tanvir with the bat

a one average series in nz and now against SA of 2021... lol
lets not act like he will ever be a WK like SL/Sa/ind/eng have had in the likes of buttler/dhoni etc etc

 

[gazza619]

Credit goes to Rizwan and only Rizwan. A lot of fans (including myself) were shouting out loud as to why Rizwan was dropped after scoring two ODI hundreds against Australia a few years ago.

Sikandar Bakht is one of the worst cricketing experts so please dont take notice.

Rizwan’s success at the opening slot has been surprising though. He is a confident man who plays with a clear head. He has minimal foot movement and plays beautifully square of the wicket, I guess thats why he plays the new ball well.

 

[Yk313]

Younis Khan is a competent coach. Look how well Rizwan is sweeping at the moment.

The added responsibility of VC looks like it's caused him to raise his personal game too. He's always had the right attitude and captaincy will get the best out of him.

Not sure this is YK’s doing. Especially in terms of coaching actual execution/tools. Babar has not learnt anything about playing or reading spin. Our “talented” power hitters who form the middle order of our T20 line-up can hardly rotate strike against spin.

The point about Rizwan raising his game with added responsibility could be plausible. He comes across as someone who is hungry to contribute more and confident enough to express their hunger.

Also, at international level it is often about minor tweaks/changes rather than wholesale ones. I highly doubt Rizwan’s power game can be attributed to Younus. Younus wasn’t known for his own power game. However, that alone neither makes nor break it - coaching ability/strategy is fairly unrelated to playing ability of coaches.

 

[RickyG]

Hard work and a desire to improve. Sarfraz got a chance in the team as an opener and eventually discarded all batting responsibility by not coming into bat ever. Rizwan made his way into the team in the lower order but saw we lacked an opener and took on the challenge and the responsiblity.

Some cricketers have a desire to improve. Others want to get by with the bare minimum effort.

 

[offstump]

It’s like any other profession, you work hard to improve and get better, never settle because it’s never good enough. Rizwan’s example sticks out because we have so few cricketers in Pakistan who apply this growth mindset to their own game.

 

[Yk313]

It’s like any other profession, you work hard to improve and get better, never settle because it’s never good enough. Rizwan’s example sticks out because we have so few cricketers in Pakistan who apply this growth mindset to their own game.

We have seen two in the recent times with Rizwan and Faheem trying to have their shortcomings diagnosed and then rectified/work on it.

The good thing about Rizwan’s improvement is that it may not have come to him naturally. Let’s see how long he can sustain this. Hope it leads to good things for PAK.

Hassan’s kind of an example too given he went back to domestics to prove himself systematically to win his place back. Amir, for instance, seems to have chosen a different route and is banking on PAK’s inadequacies to make his return.

I won’t include Hafeez in this. You could make a footballer into a batsmen if they were given the same number of opportunities as Hafeez was.

 

[ahmedzee]

Definitely younis khan and yousuf in NCA should be given Credit for this. Rizwan has proven many critics wrong. I was wrong about him myself! I always felt he was better suited to ODI and tests but he’s a gun t20 batsman as well. Credit goes to him for improving his game. Other pakistan players should learn from this example as well.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Rizwan is going through a purple patch right now and will do well to make most of it. His technique always was decent but never world class but he's making most of it.. Credit to him

 

[Hawkeye]

Was always decent in Tests.

In T20s he hasn't proven he can bat against decent bowling. A lot to prove in that area. Teams won't always give him loose balls and many competent teams have proper pacers.

 

[Mean&Green]

Two words which everyone can do and improve in any aspect of life Hard Work.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Two words which everyone can do and improve in any aspect of life Hard Work.

This

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

Not a excellent runner between wickets early he was excluded because of that silly run-outs otherwise he was scoring runs

 

[ataullah]

Hard work, fearless and belief and trust in Allah. That's all. Simple formula

 

[angrypathan]

Not a excellent runner between wickets early he was excluded because of that silly run-outs otherwise he was scoring runs

Except he wasn't. I have seldom seen a batsman look as clueless as Rizwan did in the ODI series in Australia in 2017, and conversely look as comfortable as he did the next time he toured in 2019. In those 2-3 years inbetween he obviously fixed some of the deficiencies in his batting, particularly his ability to play spin.

 

[Madplayer]

The only thing that has changed is that now he is confident.

Confidence in your ability can make you do wonders. Ofcourse with due hardwork as well.

 

[Barragan]

He always had ability with the bat, but one area he has improved in significantly is his hitting.

I don't know where he learnt it from, but a lot of the Pak batsmen need to be taught by that same person with regards to hitting.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I think the main thing that has changed is that Sarfaraz fell out of favour. Rizwan looked great early on in his career, but because he didn't come out booming sixes, fans and dopey selectors assumed he couldn't hit the ball hard. You don't score two ODI centuries back to back without being able to bat.

 

[Runner Up]

No doubt he is fitter than Sarfraz. He is a brave cricketer but he has to prove his worth outside Pakistan also.

 

[ManFan]

he hasn't

stick him outside of Pakistan and he'll be worse than sohail tanvir with the bat

a one average series in nz and now against SA of 2021... lol
lets not act like he will ever be a WK like SL/Sa/ind/eng have had in the likes of buttler/dhoni etc etc

You may be right but he performed in ENG and AUS as well.

Name another PAK WK that has done that well overseas. Besides Pant, even De Kock has struggled as of late.

 

[Hasan123]

His keeping improved from working with Steve Rixon. I always felt he was a good batsmen. He has confidence and knows he is first choice.

 

[Saj]

2 words - Hard Work.

His team-mates, coaches and opposition players all comment on what a hard-working guy he is.

There is no substitute for hard work and this guy is an example of that.

 

[Justcrazy]

He is more assured , because he has his spot sealed in the playing XI , that is why he is playing natural game.

 

[UzmanBeast]

2 words - Hard Work.

His team-mates, coaches and opposition players all comment on what a hard-working guy he is.

There is no substitute for hard work and this guy is an example of that.

Mindset too.

The right mindset, knowing your abilities, challenging yourself to improve. Knowing what the team needs, playing for the team and not for yourself.

Being selfless and fearless, standing up when nobody else will.

Already in his small test career we have seen Rizwan battle it out with the tail. He is truly a fighter of a player, doesn't give up when the chips are down.

 

[burger_uno]

what could have been - the story of pak cricket.

mohd rizwan, who had scored two 100s against australia in 2019 was dropped from 2019 world cup squad. one of the players who he could have replaced was shoaib malik with a batting average of 13 in england in 29 matches and zero hundreds against australia in 28. any sort of performance by malik in first two matches and pakistan likely goes to the semis.

credit to rizwan that he kept right mindset for which he is getting due to rewards. hope he has good people around him. problems in pak often arise after player gets successful. hopefully he has enough sense to manage his career. batting and keeping in three formats is a tough task even while playing for countries not named pakistan. hopefully he will get the support he needs from pcb.

 

[Hyperion66]

A very likable player, a rare Pakistani player to have both ability and game awareness, a tremendous upgrade over Sarfraz, Almost like a jump from handheld cordless era to smartphones.

 

[shamaan]

he hasn't

stick him outside of Pakistan and he'll be worse than sohail tanvir with the bat

a one average series in nz and now against SA of 2021... lol
lets not act like he will ever be a WK like SL/Sa/ind/eng have had in the likes of buttler/dhoni etc etc

We dont need him to be like buttler or dhoni thankyou

 

[shamaan]

hardwork and belief and trust in Allah SWT

 

[hashimafzal]

Early in his career he was being sent a 6/7 in limited overs cricket.

He is clearly a top order batsman.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Hard work in domestic cricket yes, but do not forget that the PCB has invested a lot in him as well.

He has played a lot of cricket for Pakistan A between 2016-2019. That too against full sides of Aus, Eng during their warming up games. His hundreds in the A games forced Inzi/Mickey to select Rizwan for the Aus series in the UAE in 2019 and that is where he started impressing everyone.

At that time we used to bash the PCB for selecting a TTF instead of a younger untried option. In the end it paid off.

 

[Stewie]

I think Sarfaraz could have performed at a high level as a captain and given us a few great years after the ICCT 2017 win. He was on a high. Age and youth was on his side when he made a mark during the 2015 World Cup and the next few years were great. But then age started showing. He gained weight and looked overall a bit out of shape. I think with hard work, there was no way anyone could have taken his place. He was and still is extremely well liked by the fans and all.

This is a common theme with Pakistan players. Either they are too talented and don’t focus on high levels of fitness or they are mediocre and high great fitness and manage to stay on the fringes. Moyo is a great example. He lost out on his golden years because either he lost interest or didn’t work on his fitness. Younis and Misbah on the other hand, we know had probably 1/4th of the talent Moyo had but their hard work and fitness made them last and do reasonably well and extended their longevity. Malik is basically sieving all on fitness (very very very mediocre talent) and Hafeez as well.
Just shows what great wonders a combination of both talent and the drive to work hard and stay fit can do. Rizwan is decent, not a savior of our cricket by any standards but if he keeps this up, I feel he will take over Babar as the captain.

Kohli was always talented but he is number one mainly because of his hard work and dedication to fitness. I think he is a great example our guys should follow.

 

[Stewie]

He is more assured , because he has his spot sealed in the playing XI , that is why he is playing natural game.

I think nobody is guaranteed anything especially when you have someone like Sarfaraz as backup, who is more gifted IMO than Rizwan. Rizwan is just a very fit and hard working player.

 

[hashimafzal]

I think Sarfaraz could have performed at a high level as a captain and given us a few great years after the ICCT 2017 win. He was on a high. Age and youth was on his side when he made a mark during the 2015 World Cup and the next few years were great. But then age started showing. He gained weight and looked overall a bit out of shape. I think with hard work, there was no way anyone could have taken his place. He was and still is extremely well liked by the fans and all.

This is a common theme with Pakistan players. Either they are too talented and don’t focus on high levels of fitness or they are mediocre and high great fitness and manage to stay on the fringes. Moyi is a great example. He lost out on his golden years because either he lost interest or didn’t work on his fitness. Younis and Misbah on the other hand, we know had probably 1/4th of the talent Moyo had but their hard work and fitness made them last and do reasonably well and extended their longevity. Malik is basically sieving all on fitness (very very very mediocre talent) and Hafeez as well.
Just shows what great wonders a combination of both talent and the drive to work hard and stay fit can do. Rizwan is decent, not a savior of our cricket by any standards but if he keeps this up, I feel he will take over Babar as the captain.

Kohli was always talented but he is number one mainly because of his hard work and dedication to fitness. I think he is a great example our guys should follow.

Hafeez may be a lot of things but he is NOT untalented.

 

[moghul]

Nothing complicated about his success, hard work and nothing else.

He looks like a very hardworking individual, takes his game and fitness very seriously.

 

[Stewie]

Hafeez may be a lot of things but he is NOT untalented.

He is a mediocre talent. He is no world beater.

 

[moghul]

He is a mediocre talent. He is no world beater.

Hafeez has been very lucky, a mediocre player who has been in the loop for so long.

 

[Hawkeye]

Mark my words:

Many of those praising him right now, would be calling for his head and abusing him when he fails in high scoring T20s or against good opposition.

Because his T20 batting is still not convincing. I'm seeing it, but our fans like to get on the hype bandwagon without much technical thought.

For sure he's an asset and much improved in Tests.

But as for T20s, there's a LOT to prove.

 

[GreenKhan]

Hafeez has been very lucky, a mediocre player who has been in the loop for so long.

Yes Hafeez has been very lucky . He was just as mediocre as Iftikhar , talat and Khushdil shah are at the beginning of his career. Only difference is whilst those players have a ceiling of about 20 matches before being discarded Hafeez had about 50 matches before contributing regularly. Wow !!

 

[moghul]

Yes Hafeez has been very lucky . He was just as mediocre as Iftikhar , talat and Khushdil shah are at the beginning of his career. Only difference is whilst those players have a ceiling of about 20 matches before being discarded Hafeez had about 50 matches before contributing regularly. Wow !!

Hafeez is more educated and smart , managed to stay in the team even with very inconsistent performance over the years. Always in good books of the management.

Will be a good addition in coaching staff after retirement at 44, next year.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

he hasn't

stick him outside of Pakistan and he'll be worse than sohail tanvir with the bat

a one average series in nz and now against SA of 2021... lol
lets not act like he will ever be a WK like SL/Sa/ind/eng have had in the likes of buttler/dhoni etc etc

its soo funny to have jokers like u commenting ... Dhoni's avg vs Aus in Aus is 19, vs SA in SA is 28 and in WI is 22... so in ur logic, dhoni is ****? "veryyyyyyyy slow clap"

 

[Thunderbolt14]

its soo funny to have jokers like u commenting ... Dhoni's avg vs Aus in Aus is 19, vs SA in SA is 28 and in WI is 22... so in ur logic, dhoni is ****? "veryyyyyyyy slow clap"

Worse than Sohail Tanvir with the bat. btw apparently Sohail Tanvir averages 47 in Tests overseas with the bat

 

[Thunderbolt14]

People comparing this guy to Sohail Tanvir

 

[Rellu_Katta]

Worse than Sohail Tanvir with the bat. btw apparently Sohail Tanvir averages 47 in Tests overseas with the bat

i dont claim to be all-knowing analyst but then cr@p like this fumes....

he has already done more than Sarfraz ever could in away conditions and is matching up on much supportive wickets of pakistan

Sarfraz, in beginning was much better than U.Akmal as a batsman keeper but then deterioated like anything...

Rizwan is on right mindset to fight it out and improve himself further.. his series in NZ was a testimony...
always in with less than 100 on board and then fighting it out is not easy

and then comments like "worse than Tanvir" huh..pity this mindset

 

[Mamoon]

His batting has always been good. He has a very solid record in domestic cricket and he scored some decent runs in his first few outings for Pakistan. However, the England and Australia ODI series in 2016-2017 ruined his confidence a bit and he went into his shell.

The time away from the team and the performances in domestic cricket and for the A team did him a lot of good and helped him regain his touch, which he showed in the UAE in 2019 when he scored 2 hundreds in 5 matches against Australia.

His keeping improved naturally with experience. He has always been a brilliant fielder and very athletic, but his keeping was weak from a technical perspective. Experience and practice over the years has enabled him to reach his potential with the gloves.

When you have decent talent and good work ethic, you will eventually succeed unless you get really unlucky. Rizwan’s career would have been wasted if Sarfraz’s form did not go down the drain, but he needed that luck and that window of opportunity to establish himself in the team.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

i dont claim to be all-knowing analyst but then cr@p like this fumes....

he has already done more than Sarfraz ever could in away conditions and is matching up on much supportive wickets of pakistan

Sarfraz, in beginning was much better than U.Akmal as a batsman keeper but then deterioated like anything...

Rizwan is on right mindset to fight it out and improve himself further.. his series in NZ was a testimony...
always in with less than 100 on board and then fighting it out is not easy

and then comments like "worse than Tanvir" huh..pity this mindset

It’s a rotten mentality. I was brought up in a world where people celebrate each other’s successes, but these days it feels increasingly so that jealousy and bringing each other down is the way to go for many desi people.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

View attachment 107070

People comparing this guy to Sohail Tanvir

shows how wide the gap is between Babar+Rizwan and the rest 5......

People want to compare Rizwan with Pant but then forget that Pant has an army of batters ahead him (indian tail and Pakistani tail batsmen are both good and i would say Pakistani tail is more competent)

Pant hardly comes in before 200 is posted and rizwan is always in before team 50 is there....

I see him, given he continues to improve and grind in, taking over Babar in red ball cricket soon

 

[Rellu_Katta]

View attachment 107070

People comparing this guy to Sohail Tanvir

to be honest, just to be in that frame with Babar and Kholi is a dream for anyone these days (bar the select 2-3)

a real real inspiration... for some1 like Sami and similar

 

[ChTab]

We dont need him to be like buttler or dhoni thankyou

Dhoni was bang average outside Asia in test matches & butler is very average keeper as far as just keeping is concerned.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

to be honest, just to be in that frame with Babar and Kholi is a dream for anyone these days (bar the select 2-3)

a real real inspiration... for some1 like Sami and similar

He’s my favorite cricketer these days. Brilliant attitude, a true team man, humble and cheeky, and patriotic to the core. Really hard not to love him.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

He’s my favorite cricketer these days. Brilliant attitude, a true team man, humble and cheeky, and patriotic to the core. Really hard not to love him.

but but but he is worse than sohail tanver.... lol

 

[Extreme Pace]

Seems like a motivated and hard working person. Has a great attitude and all these factors are helping him a lot.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

He always had a good domestic record. Looks like he kept his fitness and worked on his game.

 

[shamaan]

Dhoni was bang average outside Asia in test matches & butler is very average keeper as far as just keeping is concerned.

Whichever format hes on about we stil dont need him to be like them players

 

[moghul]

He improved his trade simply by working hard.

He is a role model for other struggling cricketers, there is no short cut to success.

 

[Markhor]

There were legitimate criticisms of Rizwan the white ball batsman up until recently. He had a T20I SR of 98 or something before the promotion to opening in NZL when Babar went down injured.

However he proved, as the case with life generally, that hard work and practice can overcome many weaknesses. His power hitting has improved, it seems like Hafeez has helped in this regard taking lessons from golf hitting techniques. However there'll be tougher challenges than the weak South Africa T20 team he's just faced at home.

I hope Babar and Rizwan can be what Younis and Misbah were for us in Tests, guiding the team culture and setting the right example for the younger lot.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Kid coudnt hit a 6 to save his life same time last year...

 

[Hawkeye]

Mark my words:

Many of those praising him right now, would be calling for his head and abusing him when he fails in high scoring T20s or against good opposition.

Because his T20 batting is still not convincing. I'm seeing it, but our fans like to get on the hype bandwagon without much technical thought.

For sure he's an asset and much improved in Tests.

But as for T20s, there's a LOT to prove.

What did I say?

Anyone else jumping on the Rizwan in T20s bandwagon after some fluke T20 innings?
[MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] [MENTION=141839]moghul[/MENTION] [MENTION=2501]Savak[/MENTION] [MENTION=150544]Rellu_Katta[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

You don't give him free pies and he'll be like headless chicken under lights, struggling to score at T20 pace.

Just not the T20 type.

 

[Hawkeye]

Kid coudnt hit a 6 to save his life same time last year...

Still can't in T20s, against half decent bowling.

 

[Titan24]

Still can't in T20s, against half decent bowling.

Some would say Boult, Southee, Jamieson and Sodhi will count as atleast a half decent attack against which he scored 89 at SR of 150 to win the match for his side in NZ.

He is not a world beater in T20s but has been doing the job in recent times.

 

[Bigboii]

View attachment 107070

People comparing this guy to Sohail Tanvir

Man, this picture is outstanding
to see a pakistani keeper (and a very good one at that) averaging more than a GOAT cricketer period
gets me all emotional

Just something you won't envision happening as a PCT fan wow!

 

[Rellu_Katta]

What did I say?

Anyone else jumping on the Rizwan in T20s bandwagon after some fluke T20 innings?
[MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] [MENTION=141839]moghul[/MENTION] [MENTION=2501]Savak[/MENTION] [MENTION=150544]Rellu_Katta[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

You don't give him free pies and he'll be like headless chicken under lights, struggling to score at T20 pace.

Just not the T20 type.

which stupid is asking for his head.... don't worry ..... he will come out all good..

 

[Tubs]

Seems to be a real hard worker. Obviously this is conjecture, but he strikes me as the humble type who always is looking to improve. Very gutsy too, which was shown in the recent Test series against NZ and SA.

And to whomever made that ridiculous claim about Rizwan not being able to hit half-decent bowlers for six, he tonked Pretorious (who ripped through our batting lineup the match prior) and Phehlukwayo in his century innings, who would constitute as half-decent. He has surely hit more, but those are in recent memory.

 

[MesonK]

View attachment 107070

People comparing this guy to Sohail Tanvir

Virat Kohli is a spent force in test cricket at least. He never was ATG in test cricket either. He is averaging like 28 in his last 8 tests (someone may check it.

 

[Savak]

Virat Kohli is a spent force in test cricket at least. He never was ATG in test cricket either. He is averaging like 28 in his last 8 tests (someone may check it.

One will be shocked to check Ponting's average in Test Cricket in his final 5 years.

 

[MesonK]

One will be shocked to check Ponting's average in Test Cricket in his final 5 years.

Not bad for someone in age bracket 34 to 38

Overall 41

Home 44 (5x100s)
Away 38 (3x100s)

2x200, 2x150+

Punter the Killer

 

[Suleiman]

Man, this picture is outstanding
to see a pakistani keeper (and a very good one at that) averaging more than a GOAT cricketer period
gets me all emotional

Just something you won't envision happening as a PCT fan wow!

Facts. Same thoughts.

As for t20s, he needs to work on his dot ball consumption for sure. But folks with agendas need to calm down because he’s far from the worst t20 bat in the country despite that. His issue looks fixable, I don’t think it’s as bad as Shehzad who suffered from similar problems.

I really hope we can partner him with a good hitter. Seeing Rizwan and Sharjeel improve (pre ban) was very very heartening to see. One looked timid and unsure and is now supremely confident at the crease. The other was a leg side hitter with timing and hand eye coordination and expanded his game into the offside and down the ground (before giving in to greed)

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Hard-work, a positive work-ethic and most importantly, mental toughness.

You could make the argument that he was always good, has worked hard and been consistent in FC and List A but there was nothing in his T20 stats that suggested this.

Ultimately, it was down to Rizwan making himself believe that he was good enough to make it in this format and all others. Alot of cricketers 'work hard' but if you are not mentally strong enough to not just withstand the pressure and criticism, but also rebound from it; then that makes you a great cricketer. And that is why Rizwan is a great cricketer, who Pakistan are very lucky to have.

 

[unemployedgm]

They put him in a position to have success. Prior, they were asking him to come in and clear the boundary from ball one. That's just not what he's good at.

 

[MenInG]

29 years old today - Mohammad Rizwan continues his upward rise to fast become one of our most dependable batsmen.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

He has been the top scorer in Pakistan domestic since 2012. He was always going to come good but Sarfraz tried his best to halt his career when he was captain and he is still trying to do that by using his media lobby against him.

 

[Shazzam]

I say his faith had a lot to do with it. Ever since he became more faithful he improved immensely.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Strange dislike for him by some. Don’t understand why.

Hard worker. Says the right things. Keeps his head down. Doesn’t have an ego.

He’s not a world best batsmen but by Pakistani standards he’s quite impressive.

 

[Major]

Team Managements faith in him.

Sometimes you dont need to further improve yourself, you just need the trust and confidence of the team managment to perform.

Take sarferaz for example. The guy avg well in his 30s back in 2008, yet qhen he was given a chance at international level, he was the most ugly batsmen ever. He had no confidence and the team managment used to play him after the bowlers.

Sarfraz ahmed didnt improve his batting, what happened was that moin khan came along in the team managment.

He trusted sarfraz and kept backing him and than we saw how he ended up showing performances for Pakistan crixket team.
In 2008 if you would had told someone that this keeper od urs is gonna be your icc winning captain, people would had bashed you.

Now rizwan faced similar problems. Though when he joined pakistan team he didnt lack confidence, he was being to atheltix always looking to score and take a run. Mickey arthur didnt trust him and he was in out of the team.
Now people who were watcjing domestic crixket knew that this guy is not only a good batsmen but very level headed aswell.

Now Misbah ul haq used to play rizwan for sngpl, so when he came in the team managment he rightly backed rizwan. Rizwan was also at ease that as Misbah had seen him play at domestic thus he didnt have to prove himself to him. Misbah knew his worth and kept backing hom and trusting him
Thus, we all saw how rizwan has performed. I understand that for many it doesnt sit well that misbah was able to pull out performances from Rizwan.

At times, you just need little trust and backing

 

[Farabi]

Team Managements faith in him.

Sometimes you dont need to further improve yourself, you just need the trust and confidence of the team managment to perform.

Take sarferaz for example. The guy avg well in his 30s back in 2008, yet qhen he was given a chance at international level, he was the most ugly batsmen ever. He had no confidence and the team managment used to play him after the bowlers.

Sarfraz ahmed didnt improve his batting, what happened was that moin khan came along in the team managment.

He trusted sarfraz and kept backing him and than we saw how he ended up showing performances for Pakistan crixket team.
In 2008 if you would had told someone that this keeper od urs is gonna be your icc winning captain, people would had bashed you.

Now rizwan faced similar problems. Though when he joined pakistan team he didnt lack confidence, he was being to atheltix always looking to score and take a run. Mickey arthur didnt trust him and he was in out of the team.
Now people who were watcjing domestic crixket knew that this guy is not only a good batsmen but very level headed aswell.

Now Misbah ul haq used to play rizwan for sngpl, so when he came in the team managment he rightly backed rizwan. Rizwan was also at ease that as Misbah had seen him play at domestic thus he didnt have to prove himself to him. Misbah knew his worth and kept backing hom and trusting him
Thus, we all saw how rizwan has performed. I understand that for many it doesnt sit well that misbah was able to pull out performances from Rizwan.

At times, you just need little trust and backing

Yup! Once a player has performed well in domestic as well as Rizwan has, all the player needs is confidence, backing and consistent chances.
It takes everyone some time to find their feet in a new job/role.

Though Rizwan has improved his power-hitting in the last year working with Hafeez

 

[Saj]

Hard work, more hard work and even more hard work.

Heard from his team-mates and coaches that he is a damn hard worker when it comes to fitness and looking to improve his overall game.

Good on him, keep it up.

 

[topspin]

Work ethic but also being humble enough to accept his limitations from day one.

He has a very different attitude and mindset to the rest of the cricketers in the country.

I remember when he first played for Pakistan in 2015 and was dropped later in the year/next year.

He was interviewed by PP around this time and I remember that he actually acknowledged he didn't perform well enough his place in the side.

If it was anyone else it would be the usual "I'm back and better than before" or play the victim card for e.g. "I've been hard done by the management" and etc.

Rizwan might be average when it comes to raw ability but he has an elite mindset. This is why I would back him to deliver more often than Babar Azam in big matches and high pressure situations.

Also money and fame hasn't got to his head. You could chuck a £1m cheque at him but his face won't change. He's a different beast.