Mohammad Rizwan is considered to be among the core members of the Pakistan cricket team. However, his performance in Test cricket in recent times has not been up to the mark. Recently, former player Shahid Afridi was made the interim chief selector by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Rizwan, ahead of the home Test series against New Zealand, was dropped from the team, making way for veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed.
The 2-match Test series between Pakistan and New Zealand started on Monday. Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first. After the toss, he revealed that former captain Sarfaraz, who last played a Test against South Africa in January 2019, replaced Rizwan in the line-up, while Hamza was included in what is only his second Test appearance, with the first coming back in 2018 against Australia.
Mohammad Rizwan bad run in Test cricket
The record of 30-year-old Mohammad Rizwan is excellent in T20, but he has not been able to perform as expected in Tests. Recently, Pakistan got a crushing defeat by 0-3 in the 3-match Test series at home from England. Rizwan scored 29, 46, 10, 30, 19, and 7 in the series. That is, he could not score a half-century in any of the 6 innings. He has so far scored 1373 runs in 27 Tests at an average of 38. Has scored 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries. His Unbeaten knock of 115 is the best performance.
After the change in Pakistan Cricket Board, Sarfaraz Ahmed got a chance to play a Test after almost 4 years. He played his last Test against South Africa in January 2019. A day before the match, Captain Babar Azam had said that he would make the playing XI only after talking to Shahid Afridi. Sarfaraz, 35, has so far scored 2657 runs in 49 Tests at an average of 36. Has scored 3 centuries and 18 half-centuries. 112 runs is his best performance.
Former captain Sarfaraz’s first-class record is also good. He has scored 8716 runs in 169 matches at an average of 40. Has scored 13 centuries and 59 half-centuries. Means scored more than 50 runs 72 times. His best score is 213 not out.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Aate hi kaam shuru kar diye!#PakvsNZ #ShahidAfridi #Rizwan #SarfarazAhmed
— Cricketbugs (@Cricketbugs0) December 26, 2022
Sirf rizwan ko rest denge kya wo?? Indirectly rest bol ke drop kiya hai.
— winiswin (@SumanBadoni4) December 26, 2022
Pakistan have dropped their vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan for the 1st Test against New Zealand! #PAKvNZ | #Cricket pic.twitter.com/l8PBQbclwC
— faizi (@s57007270) December 26, 2022
Last 14 innings k stats bhi bata do , had hai agenda chalao bs , kahi nhi jaye ga Rizwan ye rotation policy hai , Raja k time ki tarah drop kr k career end nhi krenge Lala
— Syed Ali Raza Jaffri (@AliiRazaa14) December 26, 2022
they dropped rizwan lmao what
— ayesha. (@ayeshaz__) December 26, 2022
Agr match jeet gaye to Rizwan k na honay ki waja se Aur agr har gaye to Babar ki waja se
Draw is a better option #PAKvNZ— Ayesha (@aishah_asif) December 26, 2022
Ok Sarfaraz Ahmed is a good option but for Rizwan it is not a good one#PAKvNZ #TayyariKiwiHai
— munib_ul_haq (@Munibulhaq10) December 26, 2022
Pathetic decision to keep @iMRizwanPak out of playing 11. With all due respect to Safi Bhai, Rizwan is still a better batsman. You cannot bench the Vice Captain of the team.@TheRealPCB is doomed.
— Muhteshim 🇵🇰 (@mmuhteshim) December 26, 2022
Rizwan Bhai ye Bazball Style Cricket khel rahe hain kya ??@razi_haider
— Mudit 🇮🇳 (@MuditHastir) December 26, 2022
