Matthew Hayden on Mohammad Rizwan: “This is a warrior. He’s been brilliant through the campaign and he has great courage”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Legendary Pakistan opener Matthew Hayden said Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is the definition of a warrior.
Rizwan accumulated 281 runs in six matches in the T20 World Cup, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 70.25 and a strike-rate of 127.72.
He won the hearts of fans everywhere after spending two nights in the ICU with a severe chest infection prior to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia.
Despite not feeling well, he went out to bat and hammered 67 runs off 52 balls, which included three boundaries and four sixes.
“This is a warrior. He’s been brilliant through the campaign and he has great courage,” Hayden was quoted as saying by Saj Sadiq on Twitter.
In the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh, Rizwan scored 90 runs at an average of 30 and a strike-rate of 90.90.
He followed that up with five runs in the first Test against Bangladesh, which Pakistan won by eight wickets.
The second Test is currently going on and Pakistan will be looking to win it in order to secure a 2-0 series victory.
Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Test series: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Zahid Mahmood