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The Pakistan national cricket team may be without one of its most experienced players for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. Star wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is currently struggling with fitness issues, putting his participation in doubt.
Rizwan is currently attending Pakistan’s red-ball training camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The camp started on June 8 and will continue till July 10, but things are worrying for the former Pakistan captain at the moment.
Pakistan is sweating on the fitness of Mohammad Rizwan before the West Indies Test.
Mohammad Rizwan, who was recently called unprofessional, skipped the first week of Pakistan’s red-ball training camp, Geo News reported. And since joining the camp, the senior wicketkeeper-batsman has been mostly working with the medical staff and focusing on recovery rather than participating in regular practice sessions.
The next few days will be very important for Rizwan. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) medical team is expected to assess the fitness of the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman on July 6.
After receiving the assessment report from the PCB medical team, the Pakistan team management will decide whether Rizwan is fit enough to travel to the West Indies for the series.
Complete schedule of Pakistan’s West Indies tour
Pakistan national cricket team is scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on July 13. Ahead of the two-match Test series against the West Indies, the touring team will also play four-day practice matches from July 18 to help the players prepare for the conditions.
The two-match Test series between West Indies and Pakistan will be played in Trinidad and Tobago. The first Test will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Taruba, Trinidad and Tobago from July 25. At the same time, the second and final Test will be played at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from August 2.
If Rizwan misses, Ghazi Ghori and Rohail Nazir ready for West Indies tour
If Mohammad Rizwan is not declared fit then Pakistan may have to find his replacement for the upcoming Caribbean tour. It is being said that Ghazi Ghori and Rohail Nazir are the frontrunners for the wicketkeeper’s role if the former captain fails to regain match fitness in time.
If Rizwan misses the Test series, it will be a big blow for Pakistan, as he has been one of their best Test batsmen in recent years. In his last 15 Test matches, Rizwan has scored 1,157 runs, including one century and nine half-centuries, and these are the most by any Pakistani in that period.
Mohammad Rizwan’s test career according to statistics
Mohammad Rizwan has played 43 Test matches so far and has scored 2,580 runs at an impressive average of 40.31. His highest Test score is 171 not out against Bangladesh. Rizwan has scored three centuries and 14 half-centuries so far in the traditional format of the game.
Apart from his powerful batting, Rizwan is also an excellent wicketkeeper-batsman and has done a great job behind the stumps as well, taking 114 catches and making nine stumpings. The 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman is among the few Pakistani wicketkeepers to have scored more than 2,000 Test runs, while also completing more than 100 dismissals as a keeper.
Rizwan also shares the record for the sixth most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a single Test innings, having taken six catches behind the stumps in an innings. He is also the second wicketkeeper-batsman in international cricket history after Brendon McCullum to score a century in Test, ODI and T20I.
