Pakistan`s star wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is hopeful of using the Big Bash League (BBL) platform in Australia to make the cut in the national T20 squad for the upcoming global showpiece.
Rizwan, who has led Pakistan`s ODI and T20I teams, has been sidelined by the selectors for the shortest format since December 2024. He feels that a player comes into the limelight if he delivers good performances in Australia.
“I am confident of performing well in the Big Bash and in . If you are successful, everyone takes notice of you,” he told the media.
“I have always enjoyed playing the most in Australia because the competition level is very high, and the Australians play their cricket in a very different manner. The level is so high that if a player does well in Australia, he knows he can perform anywhere else,” added the 33-year-old cricketer.
Rizwan is set to leave for Australia with , Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali to feature in the Big Bash League. He will represent Melbourne Renegades in the marquee event.
Pakistani selectors tried out young wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Haris this year but then dropped him for poor form and recalled Usman Kha,n who got some good scores against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the recent tri-series. But Usman is not considered as good a wicketkeeper as Rizwan.
The 33-year-old Rizwan, who has an impressive average of 47 from 106 T20Is with one century and 30 half-centuries, was dropped because of his low strike rate of 125 despite forming a reliable opening pair with Babar Azam.
Babar, also sidelined from the format because of his inability to improve his strike rate, is now back in the team but at the number three spot.
Rizwan was sacked as ODI captain and was later replaced by . The Peshawar-born cricketer said that he is focusing on his batting and sees the BBL as the best platform to prove his worth.
“I am focusing a lot on my batting and adding new strokes to my range, and the Big Bash is the best platform for me to show my worth again,” he said.
All-rounder Shadab Khan is another player whose performance would be closely followed by the selectors in the Big Bash. Having recovered from a shoulder injury, he is also in line for a comeback to the Pakistan squad.