Former Pakistan skipper, Salman Butt compares Rizwan with MSD, says 'let's not go that far'

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has said that while it is still early to compare wicketkeeper-batsman Mohamamd Rizwan with the legendary MS Dhoni, if the former can achieve even half of what his Indian counterpart did then he will etch his name in the uppermost echelons of cricket history.

Rizwan has established himself as the heartbeat of the Pakistani batting-unit over the course of the last 18-24 months courtesy of consistent performances in Tests and especially T20Is.

The wicketkeeper-batsman smashed heaps of records last year in the shortest format of the game as he became the first player to hammer over 2000 T20 runs in a calendar year.

In 45 innings, the opener racked up a whopping 2036 runs in 45 innings at an average of 56.55 and strike rate of 132.03. As far as T20Is are concerned, he accumulated 1326 runs in 26 innings.

His consistent performances and calm demeanour has led to comparisons with MS Dhoni, but Butt believes that the Multan Sultans skipper still has a long way to go.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt said, "Rizwan is a cool character... he's a great captain in the making. But let's not go that far. If he achieves even half of what Dhoni did, Rizwan will have a big name in international cricket. He is somebody who is very capable of doing that. Once things start to run over a period of time, who knows what's the limit. But we should not draw such big comparisons at this point in time,"

Meanwhile, Rizwan recently opened up about the off-field relationship between Indian and Pakistani cricketers.

"When we are on the ground, we make use of certain tactics like staring at the opponents, starting some chat or banter, and cheering loudly. Back home, we play against each other but eventually, it's us who end up playing together for the Pakistan team. Then, we don't talk about which state we come from. We are like a family,"  Rizwan had told Cricket Pakistan during an interaction on YouTube.

He added, “We may have different feelings and opinions about various nations like Australia and India but on the field, we only think about beating them. We have no other option. But off the field, we have a great deal of respect and love for each other."

Rizwan also smashed one of MSD's records last year. The stumper affected as many as 47 dismissals, overhauling Dhoni's tally of 39 which the former Indian cricketer achieved back in 2016.

Rizwan's next International assignment will be against Australia, who are set to tour Pakistan for the first time in 24 years next month.