Wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan, received harsh criticism for his low strike rate following Pakistan’s poor showing in the Asia Cup 2022, but his consistency in scoring runs cannot be disputed.
The right-handed batter, along with the captain Babar Azam, has been putting up incredible performances in the shortest format of the game ever since his return to the national setup back in 2020.
Last year, the 30-year-old batter was named ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2021 for his outstanding performance where he amassed 1,326 T20I runs in 26 innings at an average of 73.66.
The opening batter’s run-scoring consistency did not stop there, as he finished the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022 as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, amassing 281 runs in six innings, including three half-centuries.
Rizwan struck a scorching half-century at a strike rate of 147.83 in the first game of the seven-match T20I series against England, helping him overtake England’s Jos Buttler as the wicket-keeper with most 50+ scores in international T20s.
| Wicket Keeper | Team | 50+ Scores |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 17 |
| Jos Buttler | England | 16 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | Afghanistan | 13 |
| Quinton de Kock | South Africa | 11 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 10 |
It is worth noting that Rizwan clinched the top spot in the ICC T20I batting rankings last week, dethroning Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, and also equaling him for the fastest batter to score 2,000 T20I runs.
