Mohammad Rizwan says Pakistan striving to become 'world number 1'

The partnership between Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is one of the most-loved openings in cricket, and proving themselves once more, the duo has just achieved yet another milestone with the most 50+ partnerships in a match against New Zealand.

The Pakistan skipper currently holds the third spot on the T20Is ranking charts, while Rizwan is in the second position. However, both players have topped the charts.

When asked who will rise to the top slot in the rankings next after the match on Saturday, Rizwan told Geo News that bringing the Pakistan side to the number 1 top spot in the world was more important than him or his partner making individual records.

“We have never seen these things individually,” the right-handed batter said.

He said that their focus is on benefiting Pakistan as a team quoting former assistant head coach, Shahid Aslam as saying in a PCB meeting that “we have to become world no 1.”

He said that this vision is involved in every series and they will follow it while moving forward.

Rizwan further stated that he and Babar try to rotate the strike rate.

"We trust each other a lot and we never shy away from losing our wicket for each other," he said.

Rizwan had broken his captain's 1,000-day streak of staying at the top of the T20I ranking when he dethroned him last year in September. Before him, Babar had been holding the number 1 spot for 1,155 days, but his long-lasting reign ended after an ordinary Asia Cup in 2022.

Meanwhile, Rizwan could hold the slot for two months as India's Suryakumar Yadav toppled the former to become the top batter in T20I cricket in November. The cricketer has retained the position till date.