Watch: Mohammad Rizwan made sure he was the first person to congratulate Sarfaraz Ahmed on his return to the Pakistan dressing room following his half-century on Test comeback against New Zealand.

Sarfaraz replaced Rizwan in the Test side, but Rizwan made clear there were no hard feelings with his reaction upon the end of Sarfaraz’s innings.

There has been plenty of change in Pakistan cricket over the past week, with Ramiz Raja deposed as PCB chair and Shahid Afridi brought in to oversee selection. Captain Babar Azam that Afridi would have a say in picking the team too, with his influence felt immediately, Rizwan axed after a poor run of form.

Rizwan went six Tests without a half-century since his match-saving century against Australia at Karachi, though he did reach double figures in all but three of his innings in that time. Sarfaraz, 35 years old, hasn’t played for Pakistan in Tests since early 2019, but had an excellent campaign in the most recent Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

While his recall proved controversial in some corners, Sarfaraz quickly went about demonstrating his continued class, making 86 before being caught by Daryl Mitchell off Ajaz Patel. His innings was key in taking Pakistan from a shaky 110-4 to an ascendant 317-5 at stumps.

Pakistan made certain to show their appreciation for the efforts of their former captain, with Sarfaraz receiving a rousing reception as he returned to the dressing room. Leading the way was Rizwan, waiting at the top of the stairs to applaud Sarfaraz and clapping him on the back.

Watch Rizwan congratulate Sarfaraz below:

Watch the best of Sarfaraz’s comeback knock:

 

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