Mohammad Rizwan breaks silence on politics in Pakistan team, says “the same team has…”

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan spoke to the media in Peshawar to address the team’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in the Americas. Pakistan were knocked out of the T20 World Cup at the group stage after losing to hosts and newcomers USA as well as arch-rivals India. The players were heavily criticized, with some former players demanding the dismissal of the entire team. There were also rumors of groupism within the team, which had a negative impact on the locker room environment.

While Rizwan admitted that while criticism from fans was justified, he dismissed rumors of politics and groupism within the team, labeling them as “external talk”.

“People say that there is some politics within the team and that there are some differences. If there was any difference, we have also lost games before. This is just external talk. This same team has played in finals, semi-finals, but it is true that we have not won a trophy,” Rizwan said during a press conference in Peshawar.

“The criticism the team is facing is justified and we deserve it because we did not meet expectations. Players who cannot handle criticism will not be able to succeed. There are several reasons behind our defeats. When a team loses, it cannot be said that the bowling and batting are going well,” he added.

According to a report, the biggest challenge facing Babar Azam upon his return as captain was to unite the team, but he was unable to do so because of the groupings.

Shaheen Afridi was upset about losing the captaincy and Babar did not support him when needed, while Mohammad Rizwan was unhappy about not being considered for the captaincy.

However, several reliable sources have also confirmed that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will not make an immediate decision on Babar Azam’s captaincy as Pakistan now play their next white-ball series in November.

(With PTI inputs)