'He said we have...' - Mohammad Rizwan's huge revelation about Shaheen Afridi's pep talk during 5th NZ T20I

Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman and T20I vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan opened up about the pep talk of captain Shaheen Afridi ahead of the fifth T20I match against New Zealand. The ‘Men in Green’ ahead of the NZ vs PAK T20I series had already faced a whitewash against Australia in the three-match Test series. The Pakistani team were on the verge of another whitewash and if it had happened, that could have been a huge setback for the Shaheen Afridi-led side.

The last few months have not been brilliant for the Pakistan cricket team in international cricket. The Pakistani team have faced losses in every big tournament whereas they have only been able to win against low-ranked teams. Recently Pakistan faced a 4-1 loss at the hands of New Zealand in the five-match T20I series last month. Pakistan were able to win the final match of the series by 42 runs to avoid the whitewash.

Mohammad Rizwan lauded Shaheen Afridi as the captain of the side and stated that he is a very good captain. Rizwan remembered the days when both the players used to play together for the PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars. Rizwan stated that Shaheen never lost courage and heart till the end of the match.

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Mohammad Rizwan lauds Pakistan’s T20I skipper Shaheen Afridi

Mohammad Rizwan told Cricbuzz, “He [Shaheen Afridi] is a very good captain and I have seen him in Lahore Qalandars and other teams where I was his teammate and he is that kind of a player who neither loses his heart nor courage till the end of a game.”

Further speaking the conversation, Mohammad Rizwan opened up on the team’s mindset in the fifth match of the series. Rizwan stated that Pakistan scored between 220 and 200 runs and still lost the match. Rizwan stated that in the last match, the Kiwis needed 135 runs to win and the Pakistani team were thinking that the Blackcaps would chase down the target in 12 overs. However, Rizwan added and remembered Shaheen Afridi’s words in the team hurdle. As per Rizwan, Shaheen had said to the other team members that they had to win the match and give a message to the world.

He said, “In the recent past against New Zealand, we scored 228, 220 and we lost the match. And in the last game we made about 135 runs and it looked like they will chase it down in 12 overs. But when Shaheen came down to the huddle he said that we have to win this game and show this world. And this is a unique quality that he possesses that he does not lose his courage at any stage of his game.”

Defending 135, Pakistan wrapped up New Zealand for 92 runs in the second innings and were able to avoid yet another whitewash.

Pakistan faced an early exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 and finished fifth in the points table with 4 wins from nine games. The ‘Men in Green’ were only able to win games against low-ranked teams whereas they also faced a setback by losing to Afghanistan.

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