Ahmed Shehzad: “It is really disappointing that some players are hiding their poor performance in the World Cup by holding unnecessary press conferences and playing the religion card”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has blasted wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan for “playing the religion card” following his “poor performance” in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Rizwan was Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 110 runs in four matches, which included a top score of 53 not out, at an average of 36.66 and a strike-rate of 90.90.
Despite this, Shehzad was not at all impressed with the 32-year-old from Peshawar and noted that he is “paid to perform on the field”.
“It is really disappointing that some players are hiding their poor performance in the World Cup by holding unnecessary press conferences and playing the religion card. Where does religion go when they lie about their fitness and when they admit they were acting on the field? Does religion teach you to deceive others and lie in the field? You are paid to perform on the field, and you join the grouping in the team instead,” he said on X, as quoted by NDTV.
“Religion teaches us to fulfil our responsibility with full determination and not to lie about our suffering. Some spokespeople for these players want them to be given another chance, but why? This is the Pakistan team, and it is not their home team where they can play. If they want another chance, they can make their own team and play with their friends, but not for the Pakistan cricket team anymore.”
In the T20 World Cup, Pakistan lost to the United States of America and India before rebounding to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Despite triumphing in those two games, it was not enough to get them into the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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