'Pakistan captain Rizwan asked to step down following poor performance at Champions Trophy'

After Pakistan's elimination from the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025, there is mounting pressure on Mohammad Rizwan to step down as the team's white-ball captain. The defending champions, who were hosting an ICC event after nearly three decades, were knocked out of the tournament following New Zealand's victory over Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Former Pakistan cricketer Sikander Bakht said Mohammad Rizwan was never the right choice for the captaincy as he doesn't know how to speak or express himself.

Pakistan faced defeats against New Zealand and India in their opening two fixtures of the Champions Trophy. The side is being criticised for the lack of quality in the squad and timid display on the park.

Sikander Bakht also said that just like Rizwan, Babar Azam was also never the right choice to be the Pakistan captain. Rizwan took over the reins of the ODI side after Babar Azam stepped down as the skipper.

“Firstly, Mohammad Rizwan should resign as the captain. Whenever he speaks, I am not able to understand what he says. A person who cannot speak or express himself, what sort of a captain would he be?” Bakht told Geo News.

“We have seen his captaincy on the field. He is a bad choice to be the captain. I said the same about Babar Azam as well,” he added.

End their central contracts

The former Pakistan cricketer, who played 26 Tests and 27 ODIs for the country, said the central contracts should be ended for these players, and they should only be reinstated when the performances start coming.

It needs to be mentioned that the Champions Trophy is the third consecutive ICC event where Pakistan have not managed to reach the semi-finals. Earlier, Pakistan had crashed out in the group stages of the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup.

“We have to make changes. End their central contracts. Don't give them central contracts till the team starts performing,” he said.

“There should be some performance. In corporate setup, you are given a task. If you don't do it, you are asked to pack up and leave,” he added.

Pakistan will next square off against Bangladesh in a Group A match in Rawalpindi on Thursday. However, the contest is a dead rubber as both teams have been knocked out of the semi-final race.

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