Umar Akmal: “Even as captain, if Rizwan underperforms in one or two series, it will become very difficult for him moving forward”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal thinks ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan could be dropped from the team if he fails to perform.
Akmal feels that Rizwan has one to two series to prove himself. If he doesn’t have an impact, “it will become very difficult for him moving forward”.
Even though the 33-year-old is in charge of the ODI team and has been one of Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorers across all three formats in the past few years, Akmal still sees him getting axed if he can’t live up to expectations.
“Even as captain, if Rizwan underperforms in one or two series, it will become very difficult for him moving forward,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Rizwan recently captained the Multan Sultans in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and amassed 367 runs in 10 matches, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 52.42 and a strike-rate of 139.54.
After PSL 10 ended, he was left out of Pakistan’s squad for their three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which they won 3-0.
The Peshawar native also didn’t make the cut for the tour of Bangladesh, where Pakistan suffered a 2-1 defeat.
Rizwan will return during Pakistan’s white-ball tour of the West Indies as he will feature in the three-match ODI series.
In addition to the three ODIs, the two teams will also play three T20Is. All these matches will take place from August 1 to 12.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem