Mohammad Rizwan speaking during psot-match press conference:
About Pakistan team's form and approach:
“If we look back at the series against Australia and South Africa, most of our success revolved around performances in the first 40 overs. Unfortunately, the issues that have historically plagued us began resurfacing during the Champions Trophy and tri-series. Despite being competitive in the first 40 overs, where we managed to hold opposing teams, we often faltered in the latter stages. This recurring problem has been identified, noted, and will hopefully be addressed by the coaching staff and management to reshape the team and deliver consistent effort across all 50 overs.”
About captaincy and criticism:
“You are entitled to criticism, especially when results don’t go in our favor. However, everyone in the team is accountable. If you think I shouldn’t be criticized due to my brief captaincy tenure, I’d say criticism should be welcomed as long as it is fair and based on honesty. Mistakes happen, and I readily admit where I went wrong, both to my team management and selection committee. However, baseless criticism doesn’t warrant much attention.”
About winning the toss and field in all 3 ODIs and New Zealand’s seaming conditions:
“Ask any player, any management, any team in the world—if the match is at 11 AM in New Zealand, you win the toss, the pitch is green and damp, and it is winter here (where the season is ending), what would you do? The conditions demanded it. The issue wasn’t the toss—it was our inability to capitalize. In the second innings, their new ball was taking wickets, whereas we barely survived the first 10 overs. Had we batted first after winning the toss, things might have been different because the conditions were extremely tough early on?”
About Babar Azam and himself not being able to finish the match and being left out of T20 side:
“Regarding T20s, I cannot comment because such decisions are beyond my jurisdiction. They are made by management, which we have accepted gracefully.”
“It is apparent that finishing touches have been missing from our game, something we must improve. In the last match, we needed 100 in 70 balls with three wickets down, and then we collapsed. We can’t excuse this—we must improve. Earlier, we used to finish games, but now we’re struggling. There are many factors, but we need to address them.”
About Pakistan’s decline in world cricket:
“Honesty is crucial here; we can’t just keep saying “Insha’Allah, we’ll improve” without action. There are major gaps, especially in awareness and professionalism. These need fixing, if we work on them, the team can reach where the nation expects us to be.”
