Rizwan bashed for 'brainless', 'childish' decisions as out-of-favour Pakistan star launches merciless rant after NZ loss
Out-of-favour Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad criticised Mohammad Rizwan's decision-making in the ODI tri-series final, calling it ‘brainless’ and ‘childish’.
Pakistan take a loss into their home ICC Champions Trophy campaign, having been beaten by New Zealand in the final of the Tri-Nation series after Mohammad Rizwan opted to bat first. While Pakistan have a general sense of optimism heading into the tournament, the result will be concerning given New Zealand occupy the same group alongside them.
Beyond this, Rizwan was slammed for his tactical misstep in choosing to bat first, with batter Ahmed Shehzad heavily criticising Rizwan for making the wrong call at the toss in Karachi.
Speaking on his Youtube channel after the match, Shehzad didn’t hold back as he said: “It was a mind-boggling decision because we had seen in the previous match that the pitch becomes better to bat on in the night, the ball doesn’t grip on the surface for the spinners.”
“Still, the Pakistan team decided to bat first,” continued Shehzad, before bluntly adding, “Brainless decision, they had no clue.”
Although Rizwan looked set for another big partnership with Salman Agha, the pair were never able to get going in the middle overs, as Mitchell Santner put the bind on them, conceding only 20 runs in his 10-over spell.
‘You are making childish decisions…’
Shehzad further added that this kind of poor decision making was concerning to see in a final contest with a trophy on the line, ahead of Pakistan’s attempted defence of the Champions Trophy. It was ultimately a simple chase for the Kiwis, who hauled down 243 with 28 deliveries to spare.
"In a final, you are making childish decisions...you are making so many mistakes in matches. You get a chance to win only when the opposition performs below par or don’t have their main players playing,” said Shehzad critically.
In the previous match in Karachi, Pakistan had successfully chased down 353 runs against South Africa, with batting looking evidently simpler in the evening with the dew and the lights on. Pakistan were stymied by a relatively slow pitch, restricted to 242 all-out in the first innings, and were never quite able to put the Kiwis under pressure as the visiting team were able to stitch together partnerships and easily control the chase.
The two teams will meet for a rematch on February 19 in Lahore, in a game that will be the curtain raiser for the ICC Champions Trophy.
