Pakistan stars have never been a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after featuring in its inaugural edition. To date, geopolitical tension between India and Pakistan has forced the latter to not only boycott cricket in the neighbouring country but to also ban its players from taking part in the IPL. One can’t help but wonder what a cracker of a competition the fans could get to witness if Pakistan stars like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and more take part in the IPL.
Here, we take a look at which team could Mohammad Rizwan be best suited for, should he play in IPL 2025. The keeper-batter, who has just been named Pakistan’s white-ball skipper, is an asset for any side, given his ability with bat & gloves. He has also proved himself as a worthy captain in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and is a veteran in the game. If there’s one IPL side that needs Rizwan, then it is surely Punjab Kings.
Mohammad Rizwan and PBKS – match made in heaven
Punjab Kings are in desperate need for an experienced wicketkeeper and a captain. Currently, Jitesh Sharma is the side’s wicketkeeper while Sam Curran took over the reins from Shikhar Dhawan as captain in IPL 2024. With Dhawan retiring from IPL, PBKS are in desperate need for a captain.
Rizwan’s credentials as captain from PSL are not that bad. He led Multan Sultans to their first title in 2021. He is 4th on the list of most matches played as captain, with 48 PSL caps to his name and behind Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed. Out of those 48 matches, he has won 32 matches, lost 16 and enjoys a win percentage of 66.6%.
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Talking about his T20I stats, Rizwan is a veteran in the format having played 102 matches already. His ability to provide stability and go berserk in the middle-order has made him an automatic addition to Pakistan’s XI for T20Is. With an impeccable average of 48.72 in the shortest format of the game, Rizwan is a batter who can hardly be ignored. He already has one hundred to his name and is known to be a giant and regular six hitter.
| Matches | 102 |
| Runs | 3313 |
| Average | 48.72 |
| Strike Rate | 126.45 |
| Sixes | 92 |
Why Rizwan will be perfect replacement for Curran & Jitesh
Sam Curran has a poor track record as a skipper for PBKS, managing to lead the side to a win on only 5 out of 11 occasions. He enjoys a win percentage of 45.4% in IPL. Curran has played a little over half the T20Is that Rizwan has played so far and hence clearly has lack of experience when compared to the Pakistan star. Not to forget, Punjab Kings are yet to lift the IPL trophy.
Jitesh Sharma hasn’t been bad with the gloves but once again he is no match for Rizwan’s expertise. The young Indian keeper has 25 catches and 4 stumpings to his name from 40 IPL matches. With the bat he has 730 runs.
Should Rizwan play for PBKS in IPL 2025, it will be like one stone hitting two mangoes. The franchise can get both a keeper-batter and a captain in one player, especially a star who can potentially lead them to their maiden IPL title.
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