Shining stars

The nominations of Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi for the ICC Player of the Year for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy is a huge honour for the team as well as Pakistan (“Pakistan’s Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi nominated for ICC ‘Cricketer of the Year’ award,” Dec.13, Gulf Today website).

Mohammad Rizwan, the highest T20 scorer in 2021, proved himself a top batsman though he plays in the team as a wicketkeeper.

Apart from his batting skills he is a top class wicketkeeper as records show that in 2021, he dismissed 56 players behind the wicket.

I remember there was a huge opposition in Pakistan that Mohammad Rizwan is not suitable for the T20 format as a batsman because he can’t hit fours and sixes which is the top requirement for a T20 player.

But the way Mohammad Rizwan took strong opposition against him positively and proved with the batting skills that he is a top T20 player in the world, is really laudable. He surprised the world with his transformation, Rizwan scored 1,915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with two centuries in the outgoing year.

The young Pakistani star Mohammad Rizwan has a long career ahead, he has the ability to make records for Pakistan that will not be easy for others to break in the near future.

I would love to write about the great Pakistani pacer, Shaheen Afridi. At such a young age, the way he conquered the top position in the world through his quality pace bowling talent is highly appreciable. Shaheen Afridi is the only pacer among the fast bowlers shortlisted for the coveted award.

Shaheen Afridi was named for the Player of the Year award out of four top class cricketers. The star pacer took 78 wickets from 36 internationals at an average of 22.20 in 2021 with the best bowling figures of 6/51.

Pakistan is a cricket-crazy nation. Despite the country having huge talents, it’s the responsibility of the Pakistan cricket board to establish a proper mechanism to produce quality cricketers like Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheed Shah Afridi.

Hidayatullah Seehar,
By email