Rizwan Sacked For Promoting Religious 'Culture' In Dressing Room: Ex Pak Star

In another major shake-up in the Pakistan team, the board sacked Mohammad Rizwan from the role of ODI captain, appointing pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as his replacement. The decision does come as a big surprise as Rizwan was only put in charge of the team in October last year, after the baton was taken from Babar Azam in the 50-over format. The decision to name Shaheen the new skipper also surprised many considering he too was recently sacked as Pakistan's T20I captain.

As Rizwan's sacking sent shockwaves across the Pakistan cricketing spectrum, the team's former player, Rashid Latif, has held Mike Hesson responsible for the decision. Latif also feels that Hesson decided because Rizwan supported Palestine publicly over the Gaza-Israel conflict.

"Just because he picked up the Palestine flag, you would sack him as captain? This mindset has come that a non-Islamic captain should come in an Islamic country," Latif said in a video shared on social media.

"Mike Hesson is the one behind this decision, right? He isn't someone who likes this culture in the dressing room. Why aren't they understanding? He has a team of 5-6 people. He would want to finish such a culture in the dressing room. We never cared about these things, even in times when Inzamam ul Haq, Saeed Anwar or Saqlain Mushtaq were in the team," he further said.

In the video, Latif also claimed that Rizwan brought religious practices into the dressing room as captain which Hesson didn't like.

Rizwan had famously pledged support of Pakistani Rupees 100,000 through his PSL franchise Multan Sultans to Palestinian charities for every six and wicket secured by their players during a match in April this year.

Back in 2023, Rizwan had dedicated Pakistan's win over Sri Lanka in an ODI World Cup match to "brothers and sisters in Gaza".

The PCB did not cite any reason for Rizwan's removal, nor did it mention his name in the official statement. According to the board, the decision was taken following a meeting in Islamabad between the selection committee and Pakistan's white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson.

Rizwan's removal, however, seemed imminent. Over the weekend, the PCB had released a statement that pointedly declined to confirm him as the ODI captain.

The move to replace Rizwan, however, seemingly was not solely driven by Hesson but had broader support from senior PCB officials involved in the decision-making process.

With ANI Inputs

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