It’s a rare occasion for an India international and a Pakistan international to represent the same team with both players representing Sussex in the ongoing County Championship in England. Rizwan said that it didn’t feel “strange” at all. He also said that outside the international arena, cricketers feel part of a “larger family” and are looking to help each other get better at the game.
With Pujara, I had a chat when I had just come to England and got out a couple of times. He told me a few things, that you should play close to your body. Now it is no secret that we play a lot of white-ball cricket and there we play well away from the body because the white-ball doesn’t swing or seam much and you are always looking for runs.
“So here, I got out chasing a couple of wide deliveries early on. Then I sought him out at the nets and he said, ‘in Pakistan or in Asia, we are accustomed to forcing our drives. You cannot force your drives over here. Secondly, you have to play closer to your body.'”
