The Rise of Mohammad Rizwan
Having made his debut for Pakistan in 2015-16, Mohammad Rizwan did not become a permanent feature in Pakistan's starting line ups till the end of 2019, when Sarfraz Ahmed fell out of favor with the selectors and team management.
Rizwan has not looked back since he became Pakistan's number one choice for wicket-keeper; and while he has been great behind the stumps, it is his achievements in front of them that have impressed everyone.
Last night, opening the innings for Pakistan against South Africa in the first T20I of the 4 match series, Rizwan was assertive in an unbeaten knock of 74 that guided Pakistan home in the final over of the innings.
Rizwan's was the perfect innings that was required for a successful chase of a daunting target of 189.
Rizwan's last 5 innings in T20 internationals read: 89, 104*, 51, 42, 74*.
All but one of those innings have been match winning ones.
While his career T20I average is a decent 36.5, it his numbers since becoming a permanent feature of the team that are truly remarkable.
In 17 T20Is since November 2019, Rizwan has scored 449 runs at an average of 56.1 and a strike rate of 132.4.
He has also shone in Test Matches for Pakistan during this period with 741 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 46.3.
Since he became Pakistan's permanent wicket-keeper in Tests and T20Is in November 2019, he has been the top performing wicket-keeper with the bat in the world.
In Test matches since November 2019, only Jos Buttler has scored more runs than Rizwan, however at an average that is 10 runs per innings lower.
Rizwan's average is right up there and he has more 50+ scores than any other wicket-keeper in the world during this time.
Rizwan is also the only wicket-keeper who has scored a T20I hundred during this period.
With the way he is currently playing, he will surely surpass Buttler's tally during this 4 match T20 series against South Africa.
In T20Is, Rizwan has shone as an opener. He has scored his century and all 3 of his T20I fifties while batting at that position.
As an opener, Rizwan sits alongside the best in the business, with a batting average that is twice as much as the next best.
Look at how well Rizwan's numbers as a T20 opener compare with those of Babar Azam, who is one of the best batsmen in the world, and was also ranked the number one T20 batsman for a long while.
Like last night, Rizwan has played a number of match winning knocks in both Tests and T20Is since becoming a permanent feature of the team.
His stock has risen quickly and he has fast become one of Pakistan's most dependable batsman in these two formats of the game.
He is clearly the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world at the moment.
Rizwan has not been able to demonstrate this form in ODIs, but if he keeps continuing in this vein in T20Is and Tests, it is not long before he will be able to do the same in ODIs.
I was surprised that Kamran's record behind the stumps in tests is better than the best Pakistan has produced. Including Wasim Bari. However, In the ODIs his record is the worst among the ones compared.
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