Wicketkeeping is one of the most important aspects of the game of cricket. Wicketkeepers have to be constantly ready for catches and chances of stumping or run-outs.

A wicketkeeper also keeps the morale of his team high by constantly shouting words of encouragement to fielders and bowlers. About 20 years back, wicketkeepers were generally expected to keep wickets and bat a bit. Contributions with the bat were considered a bonus.

But in today’s cricket it is necessary for a wicketkeeper to be a good batsman. Adam Gilchrist, Kumara Sangakarra, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Cock, MS Dhoni and Mushfiqur Rahim have completely re-defined the role of a wicketkeeper. Their aggressive batting approach and extra-ordinary glove-work behind the stumps made them match winners.

The performance of openers also plays a vital role in all formats in the game of cricket, especially in the limited overs games and a wicket-keeper opener is a bonus for a team.

Pakistan are on the sixth position in the ICC Test team ranking and fifth in the ODI ranking, but in the Twenty20 format, the Green-shirts stand third. This is because of our openers, skipper Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batsman Muhammad Rizwan.

Both have been the most successful openers in the Twenty20 Internationals in recent times. With their consistent, steady performances, they are breaking T20I records one after another - be it most century partnerships ever, most runs as batting partners in a calendar year or most T20I runs in a calendar year.

Babar is an all-format batsman. In Tests, he is in third position. In ODIs he is on fifth and third in T20Is. Rizwan is not far behind. He is second in the shortest format of the game.

Rizwan was named the Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council last year. The wicketkeeper-batsman ruled the roost in 2021 when it came to the shortest format of the game. Aggregating a staggering 1,326 runs in only 29 matches, Rizwan scored at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89.

The ICC also included Rizwan in its T20I team of the year which also featured Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Rizwan, 30, also won the PCB’s Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year award last year. Apart from his exploits with the bat, he was as solid as ever behind the stumps, playing a key role in Pakistan’s run to the semis during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, where he ended up as the third-highest run-scorer with 281 runs in six matches.

He also scored the maiden T20I century of his career against South Africa in Lahore last year and ended it continuing his form with a brilliant knock of 87 against West Indies in Karachi.

In 2021, Rizwan also became the first batter to touch the 1000-run mark in a calendar year in T20Is, and the 2000-run mark in T20s.

Rizwan was just the second player from Pakistan to hit a century in all three formats in international cricket. He is only the second keeper in the world to do that. Brendon McCullum was the first.

Rizwan played his first Twenty20 for Pakistan on April 24, 2015, against Bangladesh in Dhaka. From 2015 to December 2020, in his first 25 T20I matches, he failed to score a fifty. But from the New Zealand tour to Zimbabwe series, in 11 T20 innings, he scored six fifties and one hundred at an incredible average of more than 100 and a strike rate of over 135.

His average of 79.14, while playing as an opener in the shortest format, is the highest for Pakistan. In the middle-order, Rizwan averaged 16.81 in T20Is from 15 innings, with his strike rate a lowly 96.35.

Rizwan is not only a good opener, but also a lucky captain for Pakistan Super League’s newest team Multan Sultans. Under him Multan won the Pakistan Super League (PSL) sixth edition in 2021, beating Peshawar by 47 runs in Abu Dhabi. Multan qualified for the final for the first time and lifted the trophy.

Rizwan is underrated in the presence of Babar, but in the shortest format he is ahead of Babar.

In the ongoing PSL eight edition, Multan again is one of the favourites. After playing five matches, Multan Sultans are on top of the table with four wins. Skipper Rizwan is the highest run-getter with 329 runs, scored at an outstanding average of 109.66, including one hundred and three fifties. He also maintained a high strike rate of 144.29.

Rizwan scored a century against Karachi Kings in the 11th match of the ongoing PSL at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. He scored 103 runs off only 62 balls with four sixes and 10 boundaries.

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