Former Pakistan pacer Sikander Bakht sharply criticized skipper Mohammad Rizwan following Pakistan’s whitewash in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. In the rain-hit third ODI, Pakistan fell 43 runs short of chasing 265, despite solid innings from Babar Azam (50) and Rizwan (37).
Speaking on Geo Super, Bakht slammed Rizwan for poor leadership and questionable bowling changes, highlighting a lack of tactical awareness. He also took issue with Rizwan’s call for more professionalism, suggesting that if the PCB were truly professional, Rizwan wouldn’t even be captain.
“I agree with Mohammad Rizwan’s point about the lack of professionalism. If the PCB had been more professional, you wouldn’t even be in the team right now. Let’s talk about your captaincy the decisions you made were questionable. You made poor bowling changes, for instance, Faheem Ashraf was bowling at 120 km/h, and that wasn’t a slower ball that was his actual speed. As a captain, you removed the slip in the third over. Is this what professionalism looks like? What kind of captaincy is this?” Bakht commented on Geo Super.
“Naseem Shah was bowling excellently, but there wasn’t a single bouncer. The first bouncer came in the 17th over. You’re fast bowlers why not bowl bouncers? You talk about professionalism, but if this PCB were truly professional, all of you should be given D-grade contracts,” he continued.
Bakht urged senior players to step up and guide the team to success in major tournaments like the Asia Cup and World Cup. He recommended relegating all players to D-grade central contracts, with elevation only based on performance.
“You’ve lost World Cups, the Champions Trophy, and now you’ve been whitewashed. I urge Mohsin Naqvi to keep these players in D-grade contracts until they bring home championships,” he added.
“You’ll only get central contracts after winning the Asia Cup or World Cup. If the board doesn’t adopt a professional approach, these results will continue,” he concluded.
Pakistan suffered a 1-4 loss in the T20I series and a 0-3 whitewash in the ODI series during the New Zealand tour. Earlier, they failed to reach the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, losing key group-stage matches to New Zealand and India.