It seems like some kind of alignment has already been done for the Pakistan cricket team by the ones who are in charge of the cosmic alignment business. 

Because their World T20 campaign has been terrific so far. In two matches, they have made history and defeated a World Cup finalist from 2 years ago. Terrific.

But obviously, the bosses of the star system up there can only do so much if one does not know how to do their job. This is where practice and persistence come into the picture. Which reminds us of Mohammad Rizwan. 

He is the wicketkeeper of the Pakistan cricket team and overall a very decent man. He is also one of the most talked-about personalities in the subcontinent since India vs Pakistan on Sunday. So, we decided to take a look at his story (shared by Hassan Cheema on Twitter).

Years ago in 2008, Peshawar was supposed to field its team for QeA trophy, and coach Abdur Rehman was of the opinion that Rizwan deserved a spot. He’d had a great U-19 season with the bat and Abdur thought that a stand should be taken for Rizwan’s inclusion.

That’s how the wicketkeeper made his first-class debut and indeed, and pardon my juvenile wordplay, it was first-class. He stuck around in the field for his team, and even though Peshawar lost that match, it gained an exceptional player.

Rizwan had something, everyone who knew him could tell. This is why when it was the chance to select the squad for the second match, again a stand was by the coach, who refused to board the bus if Rizwan wasn’t selected.

Sounds like a cricket movie, right? It sort of is. There was emotion, loss, victory, tears, and injuries. But our protagonist powered through. He made it to the national squad which ended up defeating India for the first time at a World Cup, and, as mentioned before, and is already being touted as a  title contender.

You’d best believe that buses stop for Rizwan now, and without anyone’s insistence. 

Here’s the link to the tweet.