Sanjay Manjrekar: “Rizwan is somebody who plays the anchor’s role”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batsman, believes wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan should play the anchor role for Pakistan.
Rizwan has developed into a dependable batsman for the men in green and has regularly scored runs at crucial times.
While many of his match-saving feats have come in T20Is, he has been contributing a lot more in Tests and ODIs too.
“Rizwan is somebody who plays the anchor’s role,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo as quoted by Cricwick.
During Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, Rizwan came on as a concussion substitute for Sarfaraz Ahmed in the second Test and scored an unbeaten 50.
He then amassed 90 runs, which included a top score of 67, at an average of 30 in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
As for the ongoing Asia Cup, the 31-year-old from Peshawar finished with 195 runs in five games, which included two fifties, at an average of 97.50.
Rizwan is now playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has been unstoppable in the first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka as he made 68 and a career-best 131 not out respectively.
Next up for Pakistan will be a clash against India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali