Atiq-uz-Zaman: “So I personally like Rizwan, to be honest. I think he’s a quality player for Pakistan. He’s performed really, really well. He done really very well. I don’t know what’s the reason for Rizwan to be dropped”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman admitted he has no idea why ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan was dropped from the T20I team.
Rizwan used to be Pakistan’s go-to opener in the shortest format and consistently scored runs at the top of the order.
However, the 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman did get bombarded with criticism about his low strike-rate.
Despite this, Atiq feels Rizwan performed too well to simply be axed from the team.
“So I personally like Rizwan, to be honest. I think he’s a quality player for Pakistan. He’s performed really, really well. He done really very well. I don’t know what’s the reason for Rizwan to be dropped. And, selectors can tell you [better], but, you know, it’s a little bit [of a] disappointment not to see Rizwan in the squad,” he told PakPassion as quoted by Geo Super.
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.
He subsequently missed Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which the men in green won 3-0.
Pakistan then toured Bangladesh for three T20Is, but Rizwan was not picked again.
Fast forward to the ongoing tour of the West Indies and Rizwan was once again not part of the T20I squad.
The Peshawar native is now leading Pakistan in the three-match ODI series and started by scoring 53 runs in the 1st ODI, which the men in green won by five wickets.
The 2nd ODI will take place on August 10 in Trinidad.
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
MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: The future of Pakistan cricket, Salman Ali Agha names 4 talented batsmen