Mohammad Rizwan opts for club cricket instead of National T20 cup

Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan made headlines on Sunday after he chose to play club cricket instead of participating in the ongoing National T20 Cup, which is scheduled to run until March 27.

Rizwan’s decision follows Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the recently concluded ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, where the team, as defending champions, failed to win a single match and finished at the bottom of Group A with just one point. After the tournament, Rizwan traveled for Umrah, and upon his return to his hometown, he opted to play club cricket rather than compete in the 18-team National T20 Cup.

Recently, pictures of Rizwan playing in a club cricket match surfaced on social media, with some posts on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) claiming that he scored an unbeaten century in the game.

Rizwan, along with other senior players, was notably overlooked for Pakistan’s ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Pakistan had a tough start to the series, suffering a humiliating nine-wicket loss in the opening match.

Batting first, Pakistan's top order collapsed, with the team managing to score just 91 runs. Their innings fell apart after losing three wickets for only one run. New Zealand then chased down the modest target with ease, winning by nine wickets with 59 balls to spare, handing Pakistan their worst defeat in the format while batting first.

Rizwan's decision to play club cricket, instead of joining the national squad, has raised eyebrows amid Pakistan's challenging start to the T20I series.