Ahmed Shehzad slams Mohammad Rizwan for playing "Religion Card"

Amid widespread criticism directed at the Pakistan Cricket Team, Ahmed Shehzad has launched a scathing attack on the skipper Babar Azam, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, and star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for their propaganda to hide the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 embarrassment.

Shehzad, a former Pakistani batter, slammed Babar’s captaincy and said that if he wanted to be friend-friend, he must make his own home and play with them, but not for the national team. He then accused Rizwan of playing regional card over Pakistan’s dismal T20 World Cup 2024.

Ahmed Shehzad accuses Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi of using religion and mockery to hide T20 World Cup 2024 failure

He also lashed out at Shaheen Afridi for trolling Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi for his “major surgery” remark on the national team following their early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024, which India won after defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final.

Now, Rizwan made some controversial statements in a press conference, where he claimed that if a person is a Muslim, he is an ambassador of Islam. He noted that Pakistan doesn’t matter, as he represents Islam wherever he goes if he is a Muslim. Rizwan also said that the second important thing is that he is a brand ambassador for Pakistan, so noise doesn’t matter at all.

Here's Mohammad Rizwan's statement:

"We're brand ambassadors of Islam": Rizwan pic.twitter.com/FKRUSeSanO

— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) July 2, 2024

Reacting to Rizwan’s statement, Ahmed Shehzad wrote in Urdu in a lengthy post on X: “It is really disappointing that some players are hiding their poor performance in the World Cup by holding unnecessary press conferences and playing the religion card. Where does religion go when they lie about their fitness and when they admit they were acting on the field? Does religion teach you to deceive others and lie in the field? You are paid to perform on the field, and you join the grouping in the team instead.

Religion teaches us to fulfil our responsibility with full determination and not to lie about our suffering. Some spokespeople for these players want them to be given another chance, but why? This is the Pakistan team, and it is not their home team where they can play. If they want another chance, they can make their own team and play with their friends, but not for the Pakistan cricket team anymore.”

We will not let Mohsin Naqvi forget the big surgery he promised: Shehzad

Recently, the PCB boss stated that they’ll have to go for major surgery after the Men in Green’s poor performance in the tournament, where they suffered humiliating defeats against the USA and India in the group stages, to ensure their early exit from the mega event. Then, Afridi gave it back to Naqvi by saying, “Koi bimar hai kya jo surgery ki jarurat hai.”

Shehzad added, “We will not let PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi forget the big surgery he promised. Some players of the Pakistani team are now even mocking the chairman’s statement because they don’t care. But we will make sure that fans get their answers and action is taken against these players. We have taken a stand, and we will not back down until this Pakistan team is back on the right track.”

Here's Ahmed Shehzad’s X post:

یہ واقعی مایوس کن ہے کہ کچھ کھلاڑی غیر ضروری پریس کانفرنس کرکے اور مذہب کا کارڈ کھیل کر ورلڈ کپ میں اپنی خراب کارکردگی کو چھپا رہے ہیں۔ جب وہ اپنی فٹنس کے بارے میں جھوٹ بولتے ہیں اور جب وہ تسلیم کرتے ہیں کہ وہ میدان میں اداکاری کر رہے تھے تو مذہب کہاں جاتا ہے؟ کیا مذہب آپ کو…

— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) July 3, 2024

Notably, PCB had earlier pledged to start revamping following Pakistan's disappointing performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, they have yet to make any changes in the team, coaching staff, or management, leaving fans and former players curious about their major steps.

Speculations have arisen regarding the future of Babar Azam, who has faced criticism after Pakistan's underwhelming World Cup campaign. Despite being reinstated as captain before the tournament, Babar could not lead his team to success.

Given that Babar is highly likely to be sacked from Pakistan's captaincy for the second time after he had to step down after Pakistan's poor performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India