Mohammad Rizwan Addresses Pakistan's Early Exit from T20 World Cup

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan addressed the media in Peshawar regarding the team's early exit from the T20 World Cup in the Americas. Pakistan was eliminated in the group stage after losses to the USA, the tournament hosts and debutants, as well as arch-rivals India. The team has faced heavy criticism, with some former players calling for the entire squad to be dismissed. Rumours of internal discord have also surfaced, suggesting a negative impact on the dressing room environment.

Rizwan acknowledged that fan criticism is justified but dismissed the rumours of politics and factionalism within the team as mere "outside chatter."

"People are talking about internal politics and differences, but we have lost games before. This is just outside chatter. This same team has reached finals and semi-finals, although we haven't won a trophy," Rizwan said during the press conference.

He added, "The criticism we are facing is deserved since we didn't meet expectations. Players who can't handle criticism won't succeed. We are disappointed with our T20 World Cup performance. There are multiple reasons for our losses, and one can't say that both our bowling and batting were performing well."

Reports indicate that Babar Azam's primary challenge upon returning as captain was to unite the team, but he struggled due to internal groupings. Shaheen Afridi was reportedly upset about losing the captaincy and felt unsupported by Babar when needed, while Mohammad Rizwan was unhappy about not being considered for the captaincy.

Despite these issues, reliable sources have confirmed that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will not make an immediate decision on Babar Azam's captaincy, as Pakistan's next white-ball series is scheduled for November.