Pak vs WI: Pakistan team celebrate Mohammad Rizwan's world record of most T20 runs in a year

The Pakistan cricket team — the squad as well as staffers — celebrated wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan's new world record of scoring the most T20I runs in a year.

The record was set as Rizwan scored the 43rd run during the 2nd T20I against West Indies in Guyana. He scored 46 runs against 36 balls before getting run out.

"Indeed, this is a moment of pride for me, as this wasn't only my record, but it was for the nation as well, as it was a world record," Rizwan said, after achieving the feat.

The wicket-keeper said it was not easy amid the coronavirus restrictions — which the players have repeatedly maintained affects their mental well-being.

"I had never thought I'd be scoring a world record," he said.

Rizwan has stolen the title of the highest run-scorer of T20I in a calendar year from Ireland’s Paul Stirling, who had scored 748 runs, after batting in 20 innings, in 2019.

The batsman has scored 752 runs from batting in 14 innings in the ongoing calendar year.

Before Rizwan, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez was the record holder as the leading T20I runs scorer, after scoring 415 runs in 8 innings back in 2020.

Rizwan also has a cumulative 1,189 runs in international cricket, including all three formats, this year, which is the highest by any player thus far.

With Rizwan’s feat, Pakistan now holds the records of “highest runs in a calendar year” in two formats.

The other record was made by Mohammad Yousuf after scoring 1,788 Test runs in 2006.