Bureau Report
KARACHI: Mohammad Rizwan believes that Strike-Rate of batters must vary from situation to situation as hitting the ball doesn’t work every time.
Speaking to reporters prior to their first-ever PSL final tomorrow at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Rizwan shared his feedback on people talking about his and Babar Azam’s strike rate in T20 format.
“I and Babar Bhai often suffered criticism for strike-rate in T20 format. See, it all depends on the situation. In today’s cricket, the one who hits the ball every time, usually considered to have a good strike rate,” he stressed.
“For me, there is a difference in it. Bein a captain of Multan Sultans, I want players who play according to the situation. Let’s take the example of Shan Masood, see his stats, you will find proper cricketing shots with a strike rate of around 140-145. But, more important to us is that he is winning games for us,” he shared.
Rizwan recalled Pakistan’s 204-runs chase against South Africa in April in which he and Babar provided a 197-runs opening stand to the team.
“I, Babar often criticized for Strike Rate, despite we chased 200+ score against South Africa at their home. People didn’t believe in me and Babar that we will chase that target. But, we did it,” he said.
“It is a simple mantra, if you can win matches while playing carefully, then there is no need to hit the ball every time. You try to capitalize on the opportunity as good as you can, results are in the hands of Allah,” he added.
To a query about his average strike rate in PSL 6’s Abu Dhabi leg despite being the second-highest scorer in the event, Rizwan said he played according to the situation. “In Karachi, teams were scoring near 200 runs to win so I was trying to play according to that situation and my strike rate was high there. Here in Abu Dhabi, 170-180 is a good total to win, so my strategy is to play according to this situation and my strike rate is around 120-130. So, strike rate varies from situation to situation,” he concluded.
