By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan has distanced himself from political frictions between India and Pakistan, asserting that he prefers to keep cricket free from political narratives and avoids social media engagement altogether.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Rizwan emphasized the camaraderie shared among cricketers, regardless of nationality. “We meet players like Virat Kohli and Joe Root as part of the cricketing family — we learn from them and share our own insights too,” he said, underlining the unifying spirit of the sport.
Reflecting on his team’s disappointing early exit from the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Pakistan captain admitted that his side fell short on crucial fronts. “We deserved to be knocked out. We couldn’t gain momentum in fielding and made errors,” he said candidly.
Rizwan also acknowledged the psychological toll that comes with wearing the captain’s armband. “It would be a lie to say I don’t feel pressure. I’m the captain of Pakistan and of Multan — people are watching. We need to face this pressure and fix our mistakes.”
Commenting on the shifting trends in cricket, Rizwan dismissed the idea of blindly chasing “modern” playing styles, pointing instead to external factors like pitch conditions. “People say we should play modern cricket, but what can we do about the conditions? Even in T20, we sometimes have to play like it’s a Test match — look at what happened in the T20 World Cup, where 120 runs were hard to chase.”
Despite Multan’s elimination, Rizwan showed grace in acknowledging the strengths of other PSL teams. He praised Quetta Gladiators for their form, Lahore Qalandars for their energy, and credited Karachi Kings and Islamabad United for their strong setups.
On a lighter note, Rizwan extended good wishes to Peshawar Zalmi, led by Babar Azam. “They need prayers, and I will pray for them. If we had taken our catches, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he said, half-jokingly, as the season winds down without his side in contention.
