Pakistan cricket team batting stalwarts Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed are in the news again for the wrong reasons. After the nation’s group stage exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, many former players, experts and fans have called for a major reshuffling in the team, and for many senior players to be chopped off. Whilst no major changes are likely to be made yet, a video has resurfaced across X, showing Rizwan and Iftikhar struggling against a Pakistani net bowler in a practice session.
In the video that has rapidly gone viral, Rizwan and Iftikhar are being beaten by pace and bounce multiple times. The bowler, however, is not Shaheen Shah Afridi or Naseem Shah, but local bowler Nouman Khan Khaira.
Fans gave no mercy to Rizwan or Iftikhar.
“These local boys should be taken into the Pakistani team and those playing for the side should be rested,” said one user on X.
“They even struggled against part time software engineers of USA,” joked another user on Instagram.
These local boys should be taken into Pakistani teams and those playing for the side should be rested.
— Umar (@umartweets_) July 5, 2024
Rizwan struggled for form during the 2024 T20 World Cup. Despite finishing as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer, he batted at a disappointing strike rate of just 90. Most notably, Rizwan failed to guide Pakistan to a victory against India despite being well set during the run chase.
Iftikhar, on the other hand, made just 23 runs in two games, and was dropped from the playing XI.
Pakistan’s early exit
Pakistan exited the 2024 T20 World Cup in the group stage, after back-to-back losses to co-hosts USA and then arch-rivals India in their opening two games. The results led to many criticising Pakistan captain Babar Azam and the rest of the unit, with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi promising a “major surgery”.
However, recent reports have suggested that Naqvi is unlikely to make large-scale changes in order to avoid conflict with the senior players.
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