Pakistan's criticism justified, says Mohammad Rizwan after Babar Azam & Co's T20 World Cup failure

Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has admitted that Babar Azam-led Men in Green's criticism is 'justified' for their shambolic run in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was held in West Indies and the USA. In the 20-nation mega event, eventually won by Team India, Babar-led Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage after defeats versus India and USA. Their ordinary run evoked a lot of criticism from all corners and Rizwan stated that the 2009 winners deserved it since their performance wasn't in accordance with expectations.

'We deserve this since....'

Talking to the media, Rizwan said, "The criticism the team is facing is justified, and we deserve this since we didn't perform in accordance with expectations. Players who can't face criticism won't be able to succeed."

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The Pakistan opener compared the team's condition to an ill person and pointed out that the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has the right to make wholesome changes to the side.

In this regard, Rizwan added, "We are disappointed with our performance in the T20 World Cup. There are multiple reasons behind our losses. When a team loses, one can't say that bowling and batting is doing well. Operations are a normal thing. When a person is ill, an operation is necessary. PCB Chairman is a hard-working person. The decision about who will remain in the team and who will not is the chairman's right."

Pakistan were placed in Group A in the T20 WC along with India, USA, Canada and Ireland. The Men in Green went down shockingly to co-hosts USA and then lost to India, failing in pursuit of 120, before winning against Canada and Ireland. Talking about Rizwan, he had an ordinary run; managing 110 runs in four outings at an average of 36.66 and a strike-rate of 90.90.