Former Pakistan ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan has been removed from his role in the team and has been replaced by Shaheen Afridi. Now a report has revealed the shocking truth behind the dismissal, as it claims that Rizwan was out of a job because of his refusal to promote betting companies.
The PCB announced the dismissal of former captain Mohammad Rizwan from the ODI captaincy after the end of the first day’s play of the ongoing second Test in Rawalpindi. He appointed Rizwan’s fast bowling teammate Shaheen Afridi as the new captain.
The PCB had taken this decision after the selection committee meeting with head coach Mike Hesson, but former cricketers as well as cricket fans had questioned it on several grounds.
The real reason behind the neglect of Mohammad Rizwan came to light
After Mohammad Rizwan was dropped, The Times of India reported that the real reason behind Rizwan’s omission was his refusal to promote betting companies on his jersey.
A PCB source following the developments told TimesofIndia.com, “Rizwan had informed the PCB that he would not support betting companies, which is the main reason behind his dismissal. He was against the PCB’s association with surrogate betting companies.”
Such incidents are not new for Rizwan, as earlier this year, when he was playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League, he refused to endorse a betting company’s logo and played wearing a jersey without the main sponsor’s logo. PCB has recently acquired several surrogate betting companies as its sponsors.
“The mentality that an Islamic country will have a non-Islamic captain is very bad” – Rashid Latif
In another major development, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has issued some provocative statements in an attempt to support Rizwan, bringing religious views into the game of cricket.
He suggests that the former Pakistan captain was removed from captaincy because of his comments on Palestine. He provided this opinion through his YouTube channel, Caught Behind.
According to Latif, the mentality of having a non-Islamic captain in an Islamic country is very bad, which he cited as the main reason behind Rizwan’s loss despite giving Pakistan a record-breaking lead with series wins on Australian and South African soil.
Pakistan has had a disappointing performance in terms of captaincy since 2023.
Since 2023, captaincy changes have been a regular part of the Pakistan setup. They have brought in several players for the captaincy role and have not decided on a player in any format. At the end of 2023, Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy in all three formats after Pakistan’s exit from the World Cup.
Later, Shan Masood was the only player to be supported by Pakistan as Test captain and still holds the post. The T20I captaincy has rotated between Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and now Salman Aga.
In ODIs, Rizwan has been one of the most successful captains for them in recent times. He was appointed as Pakistan’s captain in October 2024 after Babar Azam resigned from leadership roles for Pakistan.
Also read: Mohammad Aamir goes nuclear, brutally attacks PCB after sacking Mohammad Rizwan
