Rizwan took over Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy in October last year and led the team to historic ODI series wins against Australia and South Africa
04 March, 2025
PHOTO: FILE
Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has expressed surprise over Mohammad Rizwan’s decision-making as captain, saying that his leadership skills have changed dramatically.
Speaking on a sports show, Amir said he once admired Rizwan’s captaincy in domestic cricket and the Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, he believes the wicketkeeper-batter's decisions have now become unusual.
“Mohammad Rizwan… You’ve gone from a Ferrari to a rickshaw now (laughs),” Amir said when asked about Rizwan’s leadership. “At one point, I admired him because he had experience captaining domestic cricket and the PSL, where he led his team to the finals.”
“His decision-making changed completely. I’m not sure what caused this shift since I haven’t been in the dressing room with him during that period. His choices now seem unusual,” he added.
Amir expected Rizwan to bring positive changes to the team when he took charge but feels the captain has not used his influence effectively. He also dismissed the idea that Rizwan had no control over team selection.
“It seemed he would bring about positive changes. However, within a few months, it felt like he had drifted away from the cricketing mindset,” Amir said.
“If Rizwan claims he had no authority over selections, that’s not entirely true. The same influence that helped him become captain could have been used to shape the team, but he didn’t take that step. I don’t understand why,” he concluded.
Rizwan took over Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy in October last year and led the team to historic ODI series wins against Australia and South Africa. However, after three consecutive series victories, Pakistan struggled in the recent home tri-nation ODI series against South Africa and the ongoing ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
