Mohammad Rizwan crowned ICC Player of the Month for September

On the back of some stupendous performances in September, Pakistan's opening batter Mohammad Rizwan has been adjudged the ICC Men’s Player of the Month.

Rizwan was given some stern competition by Indian all-rounder Axar Patel and Australian all-rounder Cameron Green. Both had memorable outings, but Rizwan pipped them due to his consistent performances.

Rizwan continued his rich vein of form in September, scoring a truckload of runs and maintaining his numero uno status in the latest ICC T20I rankings for batters.

Rizwan was elated to win the award and dedicated it to the flood-affected victims of Pakistan. Speaking in the ICC release, the wicketkeeper-batter said:

"I would like to dedicate this award to the people in Pakistan who are affected by the floods and climate change. Hopefully this will bring smiles on their faces.

"I would like to thank Almighty Allah and express my heartfelt delight to all that enabled me to achieve this award. I want to give my high appreciation to all my teammates as they made things easy for me."

He added:

"These achievements boost your confidence. I am happy with my performance and I would like to take this momentum forward in Australia."

Playing 10 matches in September, Rizwan went on to smash seven half-centuries. He began the month with 70+ scores against Hong Kong and India in the Asia Cup 2022 but couldn’t quite help Pakistan win the tournament.

In the recently concluded seven-match T20I series against England, Rizwan went on to compile four fifties. He finished the series as the leading run-getter, with 316 runs at an exceptional average of 63.20.

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Mohammad Rizwan to play a crucial role for Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Mohammad Rizwan will play a pivotal role for Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 as the Men in Green aims to win their first World Cup since their 2009 triumph in England.

Pakistan will lock horns against arch-rivals India in their opening encounter of the World Cup slated to be played in Melbourne on October 23, 2022.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Usman Qadir.