Opening batter mocks Mohammad Rizwan's 'learn' remark after Champions Trophy exit

Opening batter Ahmed Shehzad took a dig at the Pakistan's white-ball captain, Mohammad Rizwan, following the team's disappointing group-stage exit from the 2025 Champions Trophy. 

The hosts crashed out of the tournament after consecutive defeats against New Zealand and India.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Shehzad discussed Pakistan's lackluster performance at the ICC event with sports journalist Vikrant Gupta and fast bowler Mohammad Amir. 

The right-handed batter sarcastically reacted to Rizwan's widely quoted phrase, "Ya to win hai, ya to learn hai" (It's either a win or a lesson), which was brought up by Gupta.

Rizwan had initially made these remarks while addressing his team after a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match. However, Shehzad mockingly pointed out that Pakistan’s recent performances have been all about learning with no wins to show for it.

"Yaha pe learn hi learn ho raha hai, win nahi ho raha" (It's just learning and learning here, no winning)," Shehzad quipped.

Following Pakistan's final group-stage match in Rawalpindi against Bangladesh, which was abandoned due to rain, Rizwan addressed the team's failures during the post-match presentation. 

He reiterated his resolve to learn from the setbacks after Pakistan endured a winless campaign at the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, set to conclude on March 9.

The wicketkeeper batter also acknowledged the team’s subpar performances over recent weeks, including struggles in the home tri-nation ODI series and the Champions Trophy.

"The results from us have been disappointing for the last few weeks now and we wanted to perform today in front of our home nation as they have high expectations to which we have not lived up," said Rizwan.

"You can learn from your mistakes, and we have looked at our mistakes in this tournament and the Tri-Nation series and by the will of Almighty Allah, we will look to work on them. Our next tour is of New Zealand, hopefully we will perform there since we have made a lot of mistakes against them here," he added.

When questioned about the team’s bench strength, the wicketkeeper-batter pointed to Pakistan’s participation in Champions tournaments and stressed the need for professionalism and game awareness to compete among the world's top teams.

"It is a tough question, we have seen some bench strength in the five-team Champions Cup. If we want to see ourselves among the top teams, we need to improve in various aspects like professionalism and game awareness," Rizwan remarked.

"It is disappointing, we are here for the whole nation. We have to accept that we did not perform. They are upset; we are too. InshaAllah we will learn from these mistakes and improve in the next tournaments," he concluded.