I won’t be wrong if I say ‘our Virat Kohli’ or ‘our Pujara’: Mohammad Rizwan on his bond with Indian cricketers

The India-Pakistan rivalry has never come in between the players of the two nations. All of them share a mutual respect for each other. And now, Mohammad Rizwan has said that Indian players are like his brothers. Rizwan admitted that he sees the cricket community as one huge family, and he considers every player to be his brother.

Speaking further, Rizwan stated that if any of his brothers is playing for an opposing team, he would certainly wish to get him out or score big against him, but that feeling will only be limited to the ground. "The cricket fraternity is like a family for us. But if you are playing for Pakistan and your own brother is playing for Australia, then you will, of course, try to get him out because you are playing for your country. But that fight happens only on the ground. Otherwise, we are like a family. If I say 'our Virat Kohli', then I will not be wrong. Or 'our Pujara', 'our Smith' or 'our Root', because we all are one family" the official website of cricket's governing body quoted Rizwan as saying on cricwick.net.

Mohammad Rizwan and Cheteshwar Pujara are currently playing for the Sussex team in the County Cricket Championship. More recently, they stitched a 154-run partnership in a game against Durham. Rizwan stated that he and Pujara formed a strong relationship while playing together. He also stated that Pujara bats with remarkable concentration and focus.

"Believe me, I haven't felt strange at all about it. I even joke around with him and also tease him a lot. He is a very nice person and his concentration and focus are unreal. If you can learn something from someone else, you must take that opportunity," he said.

Cheteshwar Pujara scored 720 runs in five County Championship matches, including two double-centuries and two centuries. Rizwan, on the other hand, has had a mixed season for Sussex. He scored 159 runs in four matches this season.