Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan heaped praise on each other after they ended the year on a high against West Indies. Babar finished 2021 with the most T20I wins (20) as captain, while Rizwan had a dream run with the bat this year, amassing 2036 T20 runs, including 1326 T20I runs.
Well, Pakistan also had a brilliant run in the shortest format of the game in 2021, and the opening duo of Babar and Rizwan were key in the team’s success, as they put on six-century partnerships- becoming the first pair to do so in T20Is. Rizwan ended 2021 with 2036 T20 runs while Babar amassed 1779 runs.
Rizwan, who became the first cricketer to score 2000-plus T20 runs in a calendar year, hailed Babar as "world No.1" after Pakistan chased down their record chase (207) in the final T20I to complete a clean sweep against West Indies, followed by a 3-0 T20I series win in Bangladesh.
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In a video posted by the PCB on Twitter, Rizwan said: “When you have the World No.1 with you at the crease, you don't need to worry about anything. All you've got to do is to observe and learn from the best. The key to our successful partnership is our communication. We keep taking singles, keep setting small targets, target some fielders, which in turn makes it easier for us to dominate.”
Speaking about the reason behind his success, the right-hander said: “I wouldn't want to take the credit for this. I would give the credit to the management and the captain who pushed me up the batting order and helped me perform the whole year.”
Meanwhile, Babar said in the video: “According to me, I'm privileged to have such a talented cricketer, a wonderful human being, someone who gels everyone together and someone who is looked up to by everyone. The way Rizwan improved his game, confidence levels and belief in himself is evident for everyone to see in the last one year. I'm happy that he is the leading T20I run-scorer in 2021.”
The skipper credited the players and support staff for Pakistan's stellar performance in the shortest format of the game this year. They had made it to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2021.
He signed off by saying, “The credit goes to the team and the players for their efforts, and believing in themselves. Communication and backing the players has been quite helpful for us. Every player in our dressing room is a match-winner.”
