Mohammad Rizwan failed to make it big in his first outing in this year's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Rizwan, who flew from Dhaka Chattogram on a helicopter on Saturday to represent Comilla Victorians against Fortune Barishal, managed to score just 18 off 11 balls. He struck two maximums.
Victorians were set to chase 178 runs but they fell short of the target. Rizwan's compatriot Khushdil Shah scored 43 not-out but his knock went in vain. Victorians could only score 165-7 in reply to the target.
It must be noted that Rizwan was part of Pakistan’s playing XI for the third and final ODI of the series against New Zealand on Friday. He had left for the airport as soon as the match finished in Karachi.
The Pakistan star landed around an hour before the match and was named in the playing XI.
The wicket-keeper batter remained top-scorer in the ODI series against New Zealand. He scored 182 runs in three matches at an average of 91. The right-handed batsman also scored two fifties in the series.
On the other hand, Shaheen Shah Afridi was also supposed to join Victorians but he withdrew from the event. He will continue his rehabilitation in the country ahead of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8. Shaheen will lead defending champions Lahore Qalandars in this year's PSL.
The 22-year-old cricketer got injured in the final of T20 World Cup 2022. He was taken off the field after sustaining a knee injury while taking a catch off Shadab Khan.
Since then, Shaheen has not taken part in competitive cricket and has remained under strict observation of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s medical team.