‘Not happy with fifth spot on batting order’

Karachi_(Sport Reporter /ICC Website)_Speaking at the press conference before the third ODI against New Zealand, a candid Mohammad Rizwan revealed his preferred batting position in the 50-over format.

Rizwan has played a crucial role in Pakistan being 2-0 up in the five-match ODI series against New Zealand. In both games, the hosts were tasked with chasing and Rizwan remained unbeaten each time to guide his team home.However, the ever-so-candid Rizwan revealed that he wasn’t pleased to be batting at No.5 and would rather bat at No.4, adding that he is happy to sacrifice his position for the sake of the team.

“If you ask me honestly, I am not happy batting at number five [in ODIs], because I want to bat at number four,” Rizwan said at the press conference. “But it is not important that I get what I want.

“The captain and coach will do what they like. It is my own wish to bat at number four. But I have not complained to anyone. I have been sacrificing for the last 15 or 16 years and still not complaining. We are ready to do what the captain and coach ask us to do.””Every game is important to us,” Rizwan noted. “We want to forget the past, the good and the bad. The conditions and requirements in Rawalpindi were different.

“We will assess and adapt [to the conditions of Karachi] and look to win the series. That will be our focus”

Batting at No.5, Rizwan calmly stroked a 34-ball 42* while chasing 289 to win in the first ODI and followed it up with an unbeaten half-century (54* off 41) as Pakistan hunted down a solid target of 337 in the next match.

He went on to say that he praised critics as their criticism would uplift Pakistan cricket. “The world cup was not only a test of 20 players but we all were responsible for it, and we needed to move forward by forgetting the past,” he added.

Half of the country’s population comprised commentators, he mocked.

He continued by saying that critics thought for the country adding that the international cricket game was a pressure game. “Karachis’s pitches are different from that of Rawalpindi and different conditions produce different results,” he added.