CP Rizwan, Kerala-born Indian cricketer in the UAE team, taking inspiration from Imran Khan expresses his desire to play the 2027 ODI World Cup while looking for a permanent place in the team.
The 36-year-old cricketer leads UAE in the 2022 ICC World Cup in Australia. A year, later he lost his place in the team and the central contract with the Emirates Cricket Board. He is hopeful to get his place back in the ODI team as well as help the team qualify for the event.
“I have a big dream of playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup and scoring a match-winning hundred,” Rizwan, who famously scored a match-winning ODI hundred against Test-playing team Ireland in 2021, said in his interview with Khaleej Times.
He would be 39 by the time of the next ODI World Cup. He, however, is not afraid of the limitations of age.
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“My goals are big and when your goals are big, the obstacles will also be bigger,” he said.
“But I always believe it’s about the performance, not the age. If you look back, Imran Khan’s best-ever performance came at the age of 42 when he won the 1992 World Cup (as Pakistan captain). Sachin Tendulkar was 37 when he won the World Cup in 2011.
“So you will see many such great cricketers who defied age to perform at a high level. Of course, I am always open to giving opportunities to youngsters, but when it comes to performance, age should not be a factor.”
He is a qualified engineer and has opened his cricket academy in Dubai. “At the moment, I don’t have a contract, I am not having a job. Hopefully, the cricket academy will help give me financial stability,” he said.
“Having a regular income is important. I always believe that if you keep doing the right things, things will fall in place.”