The duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan have kept fans from India and Pakistan engaged in the County Championship over the past month. Both players are representing Sussex in the championship. Pujara in particular has done well so far. The Indian batsman has so far scored 719 runs in 4 matches. He is currently at number two in terms of scoring the most runs in the season. During a match against Durham, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan shared a 154-run partnership. While Pujara scored a double century (203), Rizwan played an important innings of 79 runs.
Mohammad Rizwan opened up about sharing the dressing room with Cheteshwar Pujara. He appreciated the level of concentration and focus of the veteran India batsman. In a conversation with Cricwick, Rizwan also spoke at length about the relationship between the players of India and Pakistan. He insisted that they are all part of a ‘cricket family’.
Rizwan said, ‘This fight goes on on the field itself. But when you are not on the field we are like a family. If I say that our Virat Kohli, our Pujara, our Smith, our Root, it will not be wrong, because we are all one family. Because at one point they will meet Shaheen Shah, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali or Shadab Khan.’
Pakistani wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan said, ‘Like Hasan Ali said he will get a chance to learn from James Anderson. It means we are one and share different things with each other. “And as far as me and Pujara are concerned, I didn’t find anything strange (India-Pakistan rivalry). I hope if you ask him, his answer will be same as mine. I joke with them. I tease him and everyone in the team knows this.
Cheteshwar Pujara Talking about his batting ability, Rizwan listed 3 batsmen whom he rated very highly. Rizwan placed Cheteshwar Pujara at number two. Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan was at the top of their list, while fellow Pakistan batsman Fawad Alam was third.
Mohammad Rizwan said, ‘But he (priest) is a very nice and loving person. His concentration and focus too. If you get a chance to learn something, you must do it. In terms of concentration level and I conveyed this to the coaches here as well. Throughout my career, the most focused players are Younis bhai, Fawad Alam and he (Pujara). In terms of concentration and focus, Pujara is second on my list and Fawad Alam is at three. I judge these three players a lot.