The Sussex County Cricket Club has signed Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman, Mohammad Rizwan for the County Championship in 2022. Following the agreement, Mohammad Rizwan is set to make his first-ever appearance in County Cricket.
The 29-year-old cricketer is expected to land in England in 2022 as Australia’s tour of Pakistan ends in early April next year. Mohammad Rizwan will be available for the Country Championship along with the T20 cricket until the end of the Vitality Blast in mid-July.
Speaking on the occasion, Rizwan said: “Dear Sussex Family, assalamu alaikum. I am absolutely honoured and excited to be a part of the historic Sussex County Cricket Club for the 2022 season. I have always heard great things about the Sussex community and this family club was always close to my heart.”
He added “In my heart, I know our young team has the potential to beat any team. Our strength lies in our hard work, honesty, deep commitment, and self-belief: we can win, we will win, and we will play like champions, no matter what! In shaa Allah, I look forward to a great season.”
The player from Peshawar has quite a good record in his international cricket career so far as he averages over 43 with the bat, including nearly 1,000 runs in 19 Test matches with an average of over 42 in the longest format. He also enjoyed significant success against England during Pakistan’s three-match Test series in 2020 with an average of 40.
Adding more to that, in 54 T20Is, Mohammad Rizwan averages 50.06 with the bat at a strike rate of 126.6. He also became the first batsman to score over a thousand T20I runs in a calendar year surpassing Chris Gayle’s six-year-old record for the most T20 runs scored in a calendar year.
Talking about his recent success he also finished the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as the third-highest run-scorer with 281 runs in six innings.
Ian Salisbury, Sussex’s Championship and One-Day Head Coach, said: “Mohammad’s first-class and Test records speak for themselves and it’s a huge coup to welcome him to Sussex for a big chunk of next season’s Championship. As well as his playing credentials, it’s clear from speaking to people like Mushy [Mushtaq Ahmed] and Saqlain [Mushtaq] that Mohammad will also be a wonderful addition to the dressing room.
Adding to it, James Kirtley, Sussex’s T20 Head Coach, said: “Sussex are incredibly lucky to secure the services of Mohammad Rizwan. There is only a select number of players that have scored centuries in all three formats. On top of this he averages around 40 in all formats at an impressive strike rate. Couple this with his ability to keep wicket and he is one of the most exciting cricketers in the world. He will be an excellent replacement at the top of the order and with the gloves in our Blast team and I am extremely pleased to be filling that gap with an international player of his calibre.”
Mohammad Rizwan will open the batting alongside Luke Wright in the Blast, replacing Phil Slat, who has left for Lancashire. While the 29-year-old is also a replacement for Ben Brown as he requested to be released from his contract two years early.