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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson explained the reason behind Mohammad Rizwan’s exclusion from the ODI series against Australia.
Rizwan was omitted from the national squad following a lackluster performance against Bangladesh, managing only 54 in three matches at an average of 19.33.
Speaking to the media, Hesson highlighted the team’s performance in the past year and shed light on Mohammad Rizwan’s performance.
“There is confidence in our white-ball team. We have made real progress over the last 12 months,” he told reporters.
“When I arrived, Mohammad Rizwan was not part of the T20 squad, and he was certainly not the captain, so he has not been playing T20 cricket since I have been involved,” he added.
Hesson recalled the away series against the West Indies, noting that the team’s return of only two wins over the past year made the decision to change captaincy.
“In terms of ODIs, Rizwan started as captain in the West Indies series, but we felt a change was needed at the end of that tour after winning only two matches in the past year. The team had not performed, and we assess both individual numbers and overall team performance when making decisions,” the coach revealed.
“You look at two things: you look at individual numbers, and you look at how you can maximise the team’s performance. So, we felt we wanted to make a change from the captaincy’s point of view,” Hesson clarified.
He said the idea behind bringing fresh faces was to explore more options, adding that the decision to drop Rizwan was made by the selection committee.
“We need to explore all available options from a team perspective, and that was the decision of the selection panel. We have had several series together and identified areas for improvement, as we do with every player.”
“In ODI cricket, we have multiple areas to work on. One key concern is our powerplay bowling and taking wickets early, which has been an area of weakness over the past 12 months. We are working to improve both the type of bowlers we use and our overall approach,” he concluded.
The three-match ODI series against Australia will begin on 30 May at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
