ICC World Cup: Rizwan, always ready to put his body on the line for Pakistan

Grin and bear it — that seems to be the motto for Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s hero of a historic ICC World Cup chase against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, 10 October, along with newcomer Abdullah Shafique. 

Take his sudden attack of cramps yesterday when—immediately after stepping out for a six in the 37th over on the way to his unbeaten 134—the wicketkeeper-batter collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain.

It looked like a severe attack of cramps under the sapping conditions of Hyderabad, for he had already had a long partnership with Shafique — even though TV pundit Simon Doull is not convinced.

At the post-match presentation, the New Zealander asked the cricketer whether it was "cramps or acting" — a loaded gun that Rizwan took in his stride and faced down with a characteristic smile: "Sometimes it’s cramps, sometimes it’s acting."

Those who know the wicketkeeper-batter well will, however, vouch for the fact that he is always ready to put his body on the line for the team. 

Nothing illustrates it better than the kind of physical odds the 31-year-old had to battle just to turn up for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia in Dubai. In the middle of a purple patch with the bat that year, Rizwan has been holed up in the ICU of a private hospital in the city with a lung congestion two days before the game!  

He walked out of the hospital, played the match — against the doctors’ advice (mind you, those were still Covid times) — and scored a gutsy 67, albeit in a losing cause.

Here’s what Rizwan told Cricket Pakistan after the innings:  

It was perhaps in the fitness of things that despite the presence of a decorated batter like captain Babar Azam in the team, it was left to this braveheart of Pakistan cricket to be part of a record chase in the history of the tournament yesterday against Sri Lanka.

Their overhaul of a steep target of 345 bettered Ireland’s previous best of 329/7 against England for one of the biggest shocks of 2011 World Cup. 

Shafique (113), the 23-year-old who replaced an out-of-form Fakhar Zaman, turned into an able ally for Rizwan during their well paced 176-run partnership.

As someone who has played more Tests (12) than ODIs (5), Shafique grabbed the limelight with a double century against Sri Lanka in a Colombo Test earlier this year, and looks capable of adding discipline to the Pakistan top order under conditions where setting up or chasing 300-plus totals could be the norm. 

As a product of a cricketing family settled in Dubai, he grew up watching his father Shafique Ahmed spend a lifetime in shaping the technique of budding school cricketers. His uncle, Arshad Ali, had also been a former UAE captain and a heavy scorer on the domestic scene.

That DNA will certainly serve Shafique well as he grows in stature in Pakistan cricket.