Pakistan had a strong run in T20Is this year, winning 20 of the 29 matches and becoming the first team to do so. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were part of a team that played some of the finest cricket in 2021 and set some incredible records. Rizwan scored runs at an astounding rate in the game’s shortest version. During an appearance on PTV Sports, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif lauded the combo of Azam and Rizwan.

“About a year ago, we used to say that Pakistan doesn’t have players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul, especially in T20 cricket. But I think, after some time, Indians will also say that we don’t have players like Rizwan and Babar,” said Latif, as per Crictracker report. 

Also Read | Kohli-Shastri meltdown behind India’s T20 World Cup exit: Imzamam-ul-Haq

Rizwan made history this year by becoming the first player to score over 2000 runs in T20s and 1000 runs in T20Is, and he ended the year on a high note by collecting the Player of the Match award against the West Indies. 

In the T20s in 2021, Azam was ranked second in the table of most runs. In the game’s smallest format, he scored 1779 runs. He scored 303 runs in six matches in the T20 World Cup 2021, with an average of 60.60 and a strike rate of 126.25. Azam set a new record for most runs scored in a T20 World Cup debut. Azam is currently the best ODI batter in the world and has also risen to the top of the T20I rankings this year.

Also Read | Rohit Sharma dethrones Virat Kohli as player with most 50+ scores in T20Is

Former captains like Latif and Inzamam-ul-Haq chastised Azam and Rizwan earlier this year for their low strike rate. The duo reacted by putting up a huge amount of runs.

“Earlier, we also had our reservations about their scoring rate but they made up for it by pacing their innings perfectly,” Latif added.

Apart from a few individual records, the duo was as destructive together. In T20Is, they were the first pair to have six century stands. They also broke Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan’s record of opening the innings with the most century stands.