Tag: Mohammad Rizwan

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has made minor gains in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings update despite the team’s forgettable white-ball tour of New Zealand.

Pakistan’s struggles continued in the 50-over format as they were whitewashed 3-0 by the Black Caps, following a 4-1 defeat in the T20I series.

Amid the disappointing results, Mohammad Rizwan, who managed just 72 runs in the ODI leg, moved up two spots to 21st in the batting rankings with 606 points.

Fakhar Zaman, who did not feature in the squad, dropped two places to 23rd, while Imam-ul-Haq held on to his 34th position. Saim Ayub slipped two spots to 38th, while vice-captain Salman Ali Agha gained one spot and now sits at 40th.

India’s Shubman Gill remains the top-ranked ODI batter, followed by Pakistan’s Babar Azam at No. 2 and India’s Rohit Sharma at third.

In the bowling charts, left-arm spearhead Shaheen Afridi dropped one place to 12th with 601 points.

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Haris Rauf fell two places to 24th, while Naseem Shah continued his rise, jumping five spots to 43rd. Mohammad Wasim Jr, who returned to the side during the ODIs, slipped six places to 68th.

New Zealand’s stand-in captain, Michael Bracewell, was the standout performer of the series.

His 85-run knock in the third ODI, which included a blazing 59 off 40 balls, coupled with two wickets across the series, helped him break into the top five of the ICC ODI All-Rounder Rankings. He now sits at 5th, overtaking teammate Mitchell Santner.

Bracewell also made a 12-spot leap in the ODI Batting Rankings, now placed at 89th, while maintaining his 18th spot among bowlers.

Meanwhile, Ben Sears was the star with the ball. The pacer picked up a five-for in the third ODI and finished with 10 wickets across the series, earning him the Player of the Series award.

His match-winning efforts were reflected in the rankings too, as he surged 64 places in the ICC Bowling Rankings.

READ: Mohammad Nabi aims for “something special” in Karachi Kings return

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has urged fans and his team to move on from the forgettable white-ball tour of New Zealand after the visitors suffered a 3-0 ODI series whitewash.

Speaking at the post-match presentation after Pakistan’s defeat in the final ODI at Mount Maunganui on Saturday, Rizwan acknowledged New Zealand’s all-round dominance while admitting that Pakistan couldn’t quite adapt to the conditions.

He also praised his teammates’ individual efforts, particularly Babar Azam, who scored two fifties in the series.

“It’s been a disappointing series for us,” Rizwan said. “Babar played well with the bat, and credit to New Zealand – they outplayed us in all three departments.”

“These conditions are tough for us, but to be fair, they [New Zealand] have performed in Asian conditions as well.”

Prior to a disastrous tour of New Zealand, Pakistan were knocked out from the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 last month.

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However, Mohammad Rizwan called for a shift in mindset, urging his teammates and fans to focus on the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10.

“After the Champions Trophy and this series, we’ll leave the past behind,” he said. “PSL is a big tournament for us, and hopefully, we’ll give the people something to cheer about.”

It’s worth noting that PSL 10 is set to commence on April 11, 2025. The opening match will see defending champions Islamabad United take on two-time winners Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The tournament, featuring six teams and 34 matches, will run from April 11 to May 18. Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium is set to host 13 matches, including both Eliminators and the grand final.

Mohammad Rizwan-led Multan Sultans will kick off their campaign on April 12 against the Karachi Kings at the National Bank Stadium.

READ: PSL 10 to feature full-match Urdu commentary for the first time ever

India top-order batter Ishan Kishan has mocked the appealing style of Pakistan’s ODI skipper and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan during a conversation with former international umpire Anil Chaudhary.

Anil praised Ishan’s improved appealing style behind the stumps during a candid conversation.

Anil Chaudhary shared a video of the conversation on his Instagram account in which he questioned about change in Ishan Kishan’s appealing style.

“You played so many games under my umpiring. You have grown up now. You also appeal when required. Earlier, you used to appeal a lot. How did this change come?” Chaudhary asked.

 

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 In reply, Kishan stated that he had learned from past experiences while mocking Mohammad Rizwan’s appealing style.

“I think umpires have become smarter. If we appeal too much, they might start giving out decisions as not out, ” he said.

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“It’s better to appeal only when necessary so they trust our calls. Otherwise, if I behave like Rizwan, they might not give it out even when it is, ” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that Anil Chaudhary had previously mocked Mohammad Rizwan’s appealing style.

Chaudhary described him as someone who appeals often, sometimes unnecessarily, which creates issues for the on-field umpires.

“He appeals a lot. I even told my fellow umpire to stay aware. Har ball pe chillata hai (He keeps shouting on every ball). Isn’t he the one who puts something like a lipstick? He keeps jumping like a pigeon, ” he remarked.

The left-hand batter also commented about umpiring and the room for improvement in decision-making.

“To be very honest, there are certain umpires we are happy to see officiating in matches. However, there is always room for improvement. I feel that the new umpires coming in should be more confident while making decisions,” he explained.

“They should not overthink the consequences, but if they believe a batter is out, they should make the call without being influenced by appeals or other factors, ” he further remarked.

Ishan Kishan, who has been out of the Indian team since 2023, had a spectacular start in the IPL with a blazing 106 off 47 deliveries, leading his new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, to victory.

This was Kishan’s first century in the IPL, after playing 105 matches. The 26-year-old was previously part of Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2024.

READ: New Zealand star batter ruled out of Pakistan ODIs, replacement named

Aqib Javed, the interim head coach of Pakistan, explained the reasons behind the exclusion of star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

Aqib, accompanied by newly appointed T20I captain Salman Ali Agha, announced two separate white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand in Lahore today.

He announced that Rizwan would continue to lead the ODI team, but he was replaced by Salman in the T20I team, with Shadab Khan serving as the vice-captain. Meanwhile, Babar also retained his place in the ODI side.

During the press conference, Aqib Javed was asked about the exclusion of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I team.

In response, he clarified that no player has been permanently sidelined; rather, the current focus is on developing a new mindset within the T20I team.

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“Look, this is never the case that a player is completely ruled out. [But] right now, we feel that we need to bring in young blood into the team and change our style of play and mindset,” said Aqib.

He further explained how several teams have completely separated their T20I and ODI squads, and Pakistan is looking to adopt a similar approach.

“If you look at other teams, many have kept their T20I squads entirely separate [from ODIs],” he added.

“Our aim is to maintain a core group of 24-25 players leading up to the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup 2026, ensuring that we don’t go beyond this player pool and approach these tournaments with a specific mindset.”

For the unversed, Mohammad Rizwan was appointed Pakistan’s white-ball captain in October 2024, but his tenure as T20I skipper was short-lived as he led the team in just five T20Is, losing all of them.

Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour

ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.

T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan (wk).

READ: PCB provides major update on Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub’s injuries

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan, taking a subtle dig at the wicketkeeper-batter’s recent leadership decisions.

Rizwan has been under fire ever since Pakistan’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was announced, with critics pointing out the baffling decision to include just one specialist spinner.

The criticism intensified after Pakistan’s disastrous campaign, where they crashed out in the group stage following back-to-back losses against New Zealand and India.

With reports suggesting that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering stripping Rizwan of the captaincy ahead of the upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand, Mohammad Amir didn’t hold back when asked about Rizwan’s leadership.

“There was a time I admired him as a captain,” Amir said during an interview. “He had the experience of leading in domestic cricket and the PSL, even taking his team to the finals.”

However, Amir believes Rizwan’s captaincy has taken a sharp turn in recent months, and not for the better.

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“His decision-making has completely changed. I don’t know what happened because I wasn’t in the dressing room with him during this period, but his choices now seem weird,” Amir added.

Recalling Rizwan’s bold approach as a leader in the PSL and domestic circuit, Amir expressed his disappointment in how things have played out.

“It looked like he would bring positive changes. But within a few months, it felt like he had drifted away from that cricketing mindset,” he said.

One of Amir’s biggest concerns was Rizwan’s alleged lack of influence over team selections.

“If Rizwan says he had no authority over selections, that’s not entirely true,” Amir stated. “The same influence that helped him become captain could have been used to shape the squad, but he didn’t take that step. I don’t understand why.”

READ: ‘Keep 90s players away’: Rashid Latif issues bold statement on Pakistan cricket

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan expressed disappointment over his team’s poor performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, vowing to learn from their mistakes. 

The hosts and defending champions, Pakistan, crashed out of the tournament after successive defeats at the hands of New Zealand and India.

The Men in Green’s final group game against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain, leaving the 2017 edition winners with out a win in their first ICC event hosted in nearly three decades.

Following the above-mentioned fixture washout, Rizwan reflected on the team’s poor performances and the shortcomings in the eight-nation tournament.

“We wanted to do well and perform well in front of our nation. The expectations are very high. We didn’t perform well and it is disappointing for us,” said Rizwan.

The skipper further emphasized the importance of learning from mistakes and vowed not to repeat similar mistakes in the series against New Zealand.

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“You can learn from your mistakes, and we have looked at our mistakes in this tournament and the Tri-Nation series and by the will of Almighty Allah, we will look to work on them.”

“Our next tour is of New Zealand, hopefully we will perform there since we have made a lot of mistakes against them here,” he remarked.

Mohammad Rizwan highlighted the disturbance of combination due to the absence of their regular opener Saim Ayub’s injury, refraining from making it an excuse.

“When a player who has performed in the last two to three series in Australia and South Africa, and he gets injured, so the team will get disturbed,” Rizwan said.

“As a leader, you have to look forward since there are other players in the Pakistan team too. This is not an excuse and we will learn from them,” the skipper said.

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The wicket-keeper batter also shed light on the Pakistan team’s bench strength, mentioning that he will pay attention to the players participating in the Domestic tournament, the ‘Champions Cup’.

“We want improvements in different things. If we want to improve, and for Pakistan to have a high standard, we need awareness, and professionalism. We see that in the Champions Cup, but we need more improvement,” he concluded.

READ: Pakistan-India to play again this year as Asia Cup’s window finalised: reports

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan as well as pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi suffered a steep decline in the latest ICC ODI Rankings released on Wednesday.

Pakistan entered the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as defending champions, however, they crashed out in the group stage after consecutive defeats against New Zealand and India.

Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged a mere two wickets in two games at a disastrous average of 71 and his economy rate was 7.88.

Consequently, he dropped five places and is now sitting in ninth place in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings. His fellow pacer Haris Rauf also dropped six places to 22nd spot after taking two wickets at an average of 67.50.

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On the other hand, pacer Naseem Shah and spinner Abrar Ahmed, who also managed two wickets each so far, enjoyed gains in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings. Naseem made a two-place gain to reach 42nd, while Abrar made a massive 26-place jump to 49th place.

In the ICC ODI Batting Rankings, Mohammad Rizwan dropped four places to 20th after scoring 49 runs in two outings at a strike rate of 53.84. Meanwhile, Babar Azam held on to his second spot with 770 rating points after he managed 87 runs in two games.

Moreover, Indian superstar Virat Kohli has moved back inside the top five on the list for ODI batters following his 51st ODI century in the Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan.

With Kohli sitting in fifth spot, three players from India occupy spots inside the top five, with opener Shubman Gill (first) and skipper Rohit Sharma (third) maintaining their places at the top of the batting rankings.

READ: Axar Patel reveals the strategy behind Imam-ul-Haq’s run-out

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has defended the decision to include only one specialist spinner in the national team’s squad for the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Abrar Ahmed is the only specialist spinner in Pakistan’s squad, while Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah serve as part-time spin options.

Given the conditions in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), many former cricketers have questioned the decision to include only one specialist spinner in the squad.

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However, after the team’s six-wicket defeat against India yesterday, Mohammad Rizwan defended this choice, stating that a team cannot field five specialist bowlers in an ODI match.

“In ODIs, you can’t have five genuine bowlers. Naseem [Shah], Shaheen [Afridi], Haris [Rauf], Abrar,” he said.

“The fifth, you see New Zealand have [Mitchell] Santner and [Michael] Bracewell, India have [Ravindra] Jadeja and [Axar] Patel.”

The wicket-keeper batter expressed faith in Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah, calling them the best available all-rounders.

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“The best we had, the selectors picked them – Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah. If we go with two genuine spinners, that means we are going with five bowlers and six batters and we can’t make a combo of that,” Rizwan added.

“So yeah, there will be questions about having another spinner, but you can’t go in with five genuine bowlers in an ODI. Maybe in a T20.”

It’s worth noting that the six-wicket loss against India has left Pakistan in a precarious position, leaving their title defence hanging by a thread.

While batting first, Pakistan managed a modest 241 before getting bowled out in the final over. In reply, India cruised to victory with 45 balls to spare, thanks to a masterclass from Virat Kohli, who notched up a brilliant century.

READ: Former Pakistan captain questions Babar Azam’s match-winning ability

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has opened up after his team’s defeat against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

While Speaking after the crushing defeat, Rizwan highlighted that Pakistan failed to capitalize on the toss advantage.

“We won the toss, but we didn’t get the benefit of it. Their bowlers bowled very well. Saud Shakeel and I wanted to take the game deep, but our shot selection let us down. They put us under pressure,” the skipper said.

Rizwan further remarked about losing wickets at crucial junctures and playing rash shots.

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“Saud and I were batting well; we had taken our time, but it could be said that we played poor shots,” said the wicketkeeper.

Mohammad Rizwan lamented the poor display of green shirts in all departments, especially fielding.

“Whenever you lose, it means you didn’t perform well in all departments. We wanted to squeeze them, but we couldn’t.”

“Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game from us. We need to improve in our fielding as we made a lot of mistakes,” he said.

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For those unaware, India defeated Pakistan comprehensively in a one-sided encounter in the Champions Trophy blockbuster clash.

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli’s masterful century steered India past Pakistan by six wickets in the fifth match of the eight-nation tournament.

The right-hander slammed his 51st ODI ton to take his team home. He top-scored with 100 runs off 111 balls in his record-breaking innings.

The hosts and defending champions also suffered defeat against New Zealand by 60 runs in the Champions Trophy opener.

READ: Virat Kohli slams ton as India defeats Pakistan in Champions Trophy clash

KARACHI: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan opened up after a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in the first ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 match at the National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.

While speaking at the post-match presentation, Rizwan highlighted the Men in Green’s lack of ability to execute plans, especially in the last overs of the innings.

The wicket-keeper batter also stated that his team was not expecting New Zealand to achieve the 300-run mark.

“I think they made a very good target, we didn’t expect they would get 320. We thought around 260 when we took early wickets. The Will Young-Latham partnership was pivotal,” said Rizwan.

He said we tried, but the Black Caps played smartly, reaching a formiddable total.

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“We tried, but they played very smartly and that’s why they got to that total. The pitch was not easy to bat early on. Our execution in the end overs was not good, and that’s why they made that score,” he said.

Mohammad Rizwan also provided an update on Fakhar Zaman’s injury, stating that he was crucial for the run-chase.

“Let’s see what the result from the [scan] is. We lost momentum twice, first in the death overs and then in the powerplay with the bat. Losing Fakhar Zaman [as opener] was crucial,” stated Rizwan.

Rizwan also admitted that the defending champions’ tag did affect him, as we will take the upcoming match against arch-rivals India as normal.

“We didn’t want to put pressure on ourselves by thinking we are defending champions. This match is gone, and the next match is another normal match for us.”

Earlier, Will Young and Tom Latham’s centuries and clinical bowling performance propelled New Zealand to a comprehensive victory against Pakistan by 60 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener at National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

READ: Bangladesh captain sends warning to India ahead of Champions Trophy clash