Aakash Chopra defends Mohammad Rizwan, labels him as one of the best

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has defended Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan after a user was irked over his praise for the latter, who had an illustrious year in T20 format.

Rizwan scored over 2000 runs in the shorter format in 2021. His efforts were appreciated by the pundits across the border but some fans reacted harshly.

Chopra was blunt in his reply and wrote that it's a fact that Rizwan was the best last year while confirming that he has not compared the 29-year-old with India's Virat Kohli, who had scored 1614 runs in 2016 in lesser innings.

"Virat had already done this before it was famous don’t compare him with any loser ever he is the best player period," a user tweeted.

Virat had already done this before it was famous don’t compare him with any loser ever he is the best player period. #viratkholi #Virat #Viratkohli look at his stats!
Cc @cricketaakash pic.twitter.com/1SXidMaIBS

— Abhi (@ItzAbhizz) December 20, 2021

Chopra posted a screenshot, reminding user overall stats.

"People see what they want to see. It wasn’t a comparison with anyone. It’s a fact. The number of innings/matches is irrelevant. It’s incredible that we can’t even appreciate an effort without caveats," he added.

People see what they want to see. It wasn’t a comparison with anyone. It’s a fact. Number of innings/matches irrelevant. It’s incredible that we can’t even appreciate an effort without caveats. 🤷‍♂️

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 20, 2021

It must be noted that Rizwan registered many records in T20 cricket this year. He is the only batter to score 1000 run in T20Is and also the only one to score 10+ fifties in a calendar year