Discarded Pakistan batter attacks Mohammad Rizwan for 'brainless decision' in Tri-series final

Discarded opener Ahmed Shehzad has slammed Pakistan's captain Mohammad Rizwan for his poor captaincy during the tri-series final against New Zealand at Karachi. Shehzad criticized the decision to bat first despite knowing that the pitch would be good to bat on later.

Shehzad also claimed that Mohammad Rizwan's defensive tactics don't do the team any good. He also recalled the decision to go with just a solitary spinner for the Champions Trophy 2025 in the form of Abrar Ahmed.

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Ahmed Shehzad on Pakistan opting to bat first

While speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Ahmed Shehzad was not pleased with the idea of batting first after winning the toss. He feels that the pitch became better to bat on in the evening and Pakistan chose to bat first despite knowing the conditions.

"It was a mind-boggling decision (to bat first) 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," Shehzad noted.

"Still, the Pakistan team decided to bat first. Brainless decision, they had no clue. In a final, you are making childish decisions. You are making so many mistakes in matches," he added.

Shehzad brutally slammed Pakistan's performance and even claimed that the Men in Green can only perform well against a weaker opposition. "Pakistan's bubble has burst ahead of the Champions Trophy. You get a chance to win only when the opposition performs below par or don't have their main players playing," he said.

Ahmed Shehzad calls Mohammad Rizwan the defensive captain

Further speaking in the same video, Ahmed Shehzad turned to Mohammad Rizwan and blamed him for his defensive captaincy and batting. He reckons that Mohammad Hasnain could have played in place of Faheem Ashraf but Rizwan wanted a long batting line-up to play safe.

"In his every decision, the Pakistan captain (Mohammad Rizwan) wants to play safe with batting, be it by being a spinner short in the Champions Trophy squad or this match, where they played Faheem Ashraf to have a longer batting line-up at the expense of Mohammad Hasnain and still used him (Ashraf) for just two overs," Shehzad said.

Faheem Ashraf was a surprise inclusion in Pakistan's squad for the Champions Trophy as he has ordinary numbers in this format. He scored 22 off 21 balls with the bat and bowled just 2.2 overs, conceding just 16 runs.

Mohammad Rizwan's batting performance in Tri-series

Mohammad Rizwan slammed a magnificent hundred in the third ODI of the tri-series against South Africa to help Pakistan clinch a memorable win. Rizwan smashed an unbeaten 122 off 128 runs and formed a partnership of 260 runs for the fourth wicket.

The wicketkeeper-batter was batting well in the final as well but was dismissed by the fast bowler Will O'Rourke for 46 off 76 balls. He was also the top run-getter for Pakistan in the match.

New Zealand won the final by 5 wickets as they chased down the target of 243 with 28 balls to spare. It was the second time that New Zealand defeated Pakistan in this tri-series. Both will be facing each other again in a few days in the Champions Trophy opener.