Pillow talk: Rizwan spills the beans on his new fluffy travel buddy

Cricketer Mohammad Rizwan Khan recently made the internet a more wholesome place after being photographed carrying around a large, fluffy pillow at airports. Our timelines were full of memes wondering why the cricketer lugged the pillow around and now we finally know why, courtesy of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

It was hard to miss Rizwan carrying a pillow at airports while travelling this past week, pictures of which were religiously documented on social media.

Many fawned over his enduring love for his fluffy companion.

A true love story, they said.

And now we finally know why he was cuddling it with it. The PCB recently posted an interview of Rizwan on social media in which the cricketer answered the internet's burning question about his pillow. Turns out the reason addresses a health related issue for the cricketer. "This is a medicated pillow," he said in the video. "Keepers usually always face some neck related troubles."

"We have to wear a helmet when we're jumping up and down to wicket keep, we wear it while fielding and batting. The neck gets really stiff because of this. People recommended me a medicated pillow for this and this really brings me a lot of peace when I sleep at night. As you know, sleep is a big part of the recovery process and that's why I carry it around everywhere. People see me carrying it around because I don't want to chance missing it for even one night. If I can go through the trouble of carrying it around, using it regularly can help me speed up my recovery."

Rizwan was a key member of the Pakistan cricket team this tournament and really gave the game his all. He even went from the ICU to the cricket pitch to play the Pakistan versus Australia semi-final.

Pictures of Rizwan and his pillow are now a national treasure and we're pretty grateful to the PCB for letting us know why the cricketer is frequently seen with one in hand. Their social media game has been pretty strong this season, allowing cricket fans to really get to know the players they've come to admire both on and off the field and we really like it.