‘Won two matches in 12 months’: Pakistan head coach on Mohammad Rizwan ODI omission

Mohammad Rizwan and Mike Mike Hesson NEW DELHI: Pakistan men’s cricket team head coach Mike Hesson has explained why veteran batsman Mohammad Rizwan was dropped from the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia and why he was dropped as captain earlier.Rizwan, who led Pakistan to ODI series wins against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa after becoming captain in 2024, recently struggled with the bat during the Bangladesh series. In three matches, he scored just 54 runs at an average of 19.33. The Pakistani selectors replaced him in the lineup with wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir.His exclusion sparked much debate among fans, especially after reports claimed that Hesson was not interested in Rizwan being part of Pakistan’s future white-ball plans, including the 2027 ODI World Cup.Talking about the decision, Hesson said that Pakistan is trying different combinations ahead of the next World Cup. “Because we’re going to have the World Cup in 18 months, so we have to look at the options we have from a workers’ point of view, and that’s what the selection committee has decided,” he explained.Hesson also clarified that the changes had already started during the Bangladesh ODI series as Pakistan looked to test younger players and new combinations.The coach went on to talk about Rizwan losing the ODI captaincy after Pakistan’s poor results in 2025. “In terms of ODIs, yes, Mohammad Rizwan started as captain in the West Indies and we felt we needed a change at the end of this series because we won two matches in 12 months. So the team didn’t perform.”He added: “Sure, you look at two things: you look at the individual numbers and you look at how you can maximize the performance of the team. So we felt we wanted to make a change from a captain’s point of view.”Hesson also pointed out that Rizwan was already out of Pakistan’s T20I set-up before he took over as coach.