DUBAI: Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan’s recovery from a lung infection to make a valiant innings in the Twenty20 World Cup semifinal was termed “miraculous” on Saturday by the Indian doctor who treated him.
Rizwan, 29, came out of the intensive care unit of a Dubai hospital to top-score with 67 in Pakistan’s 176-4 on Thursday, but his efforts were in vain as Australia overhauled that total to set up a title clash with New Zealand.
Rizwan’s courage was lauded by Pakistan’s batting coach Matthew Hayden and by fans, while pictures of the batsman lying in a hospital bed went viral on social media.
Saheer Sainalabdeen, a pulmonologist who hails from the south Indian state of Kerala, told AFP it was Rizwan’s “faith in God” and desire to play for Pakistan that got the batsman through a severe chest infection.
Rizwan was so grateful that he sent the doctor an autographed Pakistan shirt.
“I must admit that we did not expect his recovery to be so fast as it takes around five to seven days for improvement with the kind of condition that he came in with,” Sainalabdeen told AFP.
“But because of his fit lifestyle, of course he is a sportsperson, he improved in two to three days and it was miraculous.
“Main thing I thought was his faith in God and his strong belief to play in the World Cup for his country.”
Sainalabdeen said Rizwan was admitted to the hospital on November 9 with severe chest pain and doctors suspected heart issues but later it turned out to be spasm of the lungs and food pipe.
“It all started with cough and cold but November 9 he had severe chest pain and we had a doubt of him having heart issues,” he said.
“But then the evaluation found out that he had severe throat infection which led to spasm of the lungs and food pipe. Because of which he had severe pain and breathing difficulty.”
Once Rizwan was passed fit, he tore into the Australian bowling in Thursday’s semifinal, taking nine balls to get going with skipper Babar Azam as he hit Josh Hazlewood for six.
The batsman smashed three fours and four sixes in a 52-ball blitz before his dismissal in the 18th over. He jumped to second in the tournament’s batting chart with 281 runs in six matches, behind only Babar’s 303 runs.
Sainalabdeen, who works at the Medeor hospital which helps assure the bio bubble at this World Cup, said he felt “good” watching Rizwan’s knock on TV.
Rizwan, a wicketkeeper-batsman who hails from Peshawar, has played 49 T20 matches for Pakistan, scoring 1346 runs at an average of over 51 since his debut in 2015.
‘Faith in god,’ desire to play helped Rizwan make ‘miraculous’ recovery at Dubai hospital — doctor
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‘Faith in god,’ desire to play helped Rizwan make ‘miraculous’ recovery at Dubai hospital — doctor
- Rizwan, 29, came out of the intensive care unit of a Dubai hospital to top-score with 67 in Pakistan’s 176-4 on Thursday
- His courage was lauded by fans, while pictures of the batsman lying in a hospital bed went viral on social media
ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives
- Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in weather patterns
- The projects in Sindh and Punjab will restore nature-based coastal defenses and enhance agricultural productivity
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed more than $300 million agreements to undertake two major climate resilience initiatives, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Tuesday.
The projects include the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP), valued at Rs50.5 billion ($180.5 million), and the Punjab Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture Mechanization Project (PCRLCAMP), totaling Rs34.7 billion ($124 million).
Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns. In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses, while another 1,037 people were killed in floods this year.
The South Asian country is ramping up climate resilience efforts, with support from the ADB and World Bank, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas.
“Both sides expressed their commitment to effectively utilize the financing for successful and timely completion of the two initiatives,” the PID said in a statement.
The Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) will promote integrated water resources and flood risk management, restore nature-based coastal defenses, and strengthen institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning, directly benefiting over 3.8 million people in Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts, according to ADB.
The Punjab project will enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience across 30 districts, improving small farmers’ access to climate-smart machinery, introducing circular agriculture practices to reduce residue burning, establishing testing and training facilities, and empowering 15,000 women through skills development and livelihood diversification.
Earlier this month, the ADB also approved $381 million in financing for Pakistan’s Punjab province to modernize agriculture and strengthen education and health services, including concessional loans and grants for farm mechanization, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and nursing sector reforms.
