Mohammed Rizwan denied rumours of politics and collectivism in the team.©AFP
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan spoke to media in Peshawar about his team’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in the Americas. Pakistan was eliminated in the group stage of the T20 World Cup after losing to hosts and debutants USA and arch rivals India. The players were heavily criticised, with some former players calling for the entire squad to be fired. There were also rumours of collectivism within the team, which had a negative impact on the atmosphere in the dressing room.
While Rizwan acknowledged that criticism from fans was valid, he dismissed rumours of politics and collectivism within the team as “outsider chatter”.
“People are saying there is politics and differences in the team. If there were differences, we have lost matches before. These are just outside rumours. It is a fact that this same team has played finals, semi-finals but has not won a trophy,” Rizwan told a press conference in Peshawar.
“The criticism the team is receiving is justified and deserved as we have not lived up to expectations. Players who cannot withstand criticism cannot succeed. We are disappointed with our performance in the T20 World Cup. There are multiple reasons behind the loss. Just because the team has lost does not mean that we are pitching or batting well,” he added.
According to reports, Babar Azam’s biggest challenge on returning as captain was to unite the team, but the groupings meant he was unable to do so.
Shaheen Afridi lost the captaincy and was upset that Babar did not support him when it was needed, while Mohammed Rizwan was unhappy that he was not considered for the captaincy.
However, multiple reliable sources have also confirmed that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will not take any immediate decision on Babar Azam’s captaincy as Pakistan will next play their white-ball series in November.
(With PTI input)
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