Mohammad Rizwan exposes PCB’s dirty secret behind his sacking, leaves Mohsin Naqvi red-faced
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Mohammad Rizwan, the former Pakistan ODI skipper, has been removed from his role in the team and has been replaced by Shaheen Afridi. A report has now revealed a shocking truth behind the sacking, as it claims that Rizwan's denial of promoting betting companies has led to his exit.
PCB announced the sacking of former skipper Mohammad Rizwan from ODI Captaincy after the end of play on Day 1 of the Second ongoing Test in Rawalpindi. They named Shaheen Afridi, Rizwan's pace bowling teammate, as the new skipper.
This decision was made by the PCB following a selection committee meeting with the head coach, Mike Hesson, but was questioned on several grounds by former cricketers as well as cricket fans.
Real reason behind Mohammad Rizwan's snub revealed
After Mohammad Rizwan's removal, the Times of India reported that the real reason behind Rizwan's snub was his refusal to promote betting companies on his jersey.
"Rizwan had informed the PCB that he wouldn’t endorse betting companies, which is the main reason behind his sacking. He was against the PCB’s collaboration with surrogate betting firms," a PCB source tracking the development told TimesofIndia.com.
Such incidents are not new for Rizwan, since earlier this year, when he was playing for the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League, he refused to endorse the logo of a betting company and played wearing a jersey without the main sponsor's logo. PCB has lately gotten several surrogate betting companies as its sponsors.
"This mindset that there would be non-Islamic captains in an Islamic country is abysmal" - Rashid Latif
In another major development, former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif, in an attempt to back Rizwan, has issued some provocative statements, bringing religious views into the game of cricket.
He suggests that the former Pakistan skipper was snubbed from Captaincy due to his remarks on Palestine. He provided this opinion through his YouTube channel, Caught Behind.
The mindset of having a non-Islamic skipper in an Islamic country is very bad, as per Latif, which he backed as the major reason behind Rizwan's snub despite having led Pakistan to a record-breaking rise with series wins on Australian and South African soil.
Pakistan had a fickle show on captaincy since 2023
Ever since 2023, captaincy changes have been a regular part of the Pakistan setup. They have brought in multiple players in the captaincy role and have not settled on one player in any format. Late in 2023, Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy across all three formats following Pakistan's exit from the World Cup.
Later, Shan Masood was the only player that Pakistan has backed as the Test skipper and still holds the position. The T20I captaincy swirled between Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and now over to Salman Agha.
In the ODIs, Rizwan is among the most successful skippers in recent times for them. He was appointed their skipper in October 2024, after Babar Azam resigned from leadership roles for Pakistan.
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Tagged:
Pakistan National Cricket Team Babar Azam Mohammad Rizwan Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mike Hesson Mohsin Naqvi Shaheen Afridi
