Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan sent a reminder of his quality to Misbah ul-Haq on Wednesday with a stunning performance in the National T20 cup.
Zimbabwe are soon set to take on Pakistan in three-match ODI and T20I series’ with the former due to get underway in Rawalpindi on 30th October.
The visitors have already named their squads for both series’ but Pakistan chief selector, Misbah ul-Haq, isn’t due to confirm the Pakistan player lists until Monday 19 October.
There’s still time for players to force themselves into the reckoning, but Mohammad Rizwan has already shown why he deserves to be included for the white-ball clashes.
The 28-year-old was replaced for the final T20I of the recent three-match series against England by former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed but is outperforming the veteran in the National T20 competition.
On the same day that Sarfaraz struck 52* for Sindh against Northern, Rizwan blasted 99* for Khyber against Central Punjab.
He was on the losing side in a tight contest but had moved to within one of a century by the end of the chase, despite facing just 68 balls.
The fiery keeper struck seven fours and six sixes in his innings, outshining the likes of Shoaib Malik and opposition skipper, Babar Azam.
It was the latest outstanding contribution from Rizwan, who took an incredible catch in a match against Sindh the previous day.
He has relinquished the gloves at this point in the competition to focus on captaincy duties and showed incredible athleticism to cover a lot of ground from his off-side fielding position before pulling off a full-length diving catch at mid-on.
Given that he also scored two fifties in the early stages of the tournament, there can surely be no doubt that he will make the squads announced on Monday.
Mohammad Rizwan is a quality operator who is still relatively inexperienced at international level and selection for the Zimbabwe series’ will allow him more well-deserved opportunities to make his mark in a Pakistan shirt.