Hesson breaks silence on Rizwan's exclusion from Australia ODIs, captaincy snub

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan men's cricket team's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson on Monday explained experienced wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan's exclusion from the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, as well as his removal from the format's captaincy in October last year.

Former captain Rizwan, who led Pakistan to consecutive ODI series triumphs away over Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively, after starting his captaincy tenure in late 2024, could not retain his spot in the format as a player after a lacklustre away assignment against Bangladesh, during which he could muster 54 runs at a dismal average of 19.33.

The 33-year-old was replaced by fellow wicketkeeper batter Rohail Nazir in the Green Shirts' squad for the three-match home series against Australia, slated to run until June 4, while Muhammad Ghazi Ghouri retained his spot after making his debut away against Bangladesh in February.

The development came just hours after reports had claimed that Hesson was not in favour of Rizwan's inclusion in the ODI set-up following T20 format decisions, signalling a possible shift in Pakistan's white-ball direction, adding that he was also not being considered for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Rizwan's exclusion from the ODIs, in which he has accumulated 2979 runs in 94 innings at a healthy average of 40.80, has been a point of debate among cricket fans, some of whom accused Hesson of injustice against the wicketkeeper batter.

Meanwhile, as per the latest development, the Pakistan head coach has clarified that Rizwan's exclusion was part of their plans to explore "options" ahead of the World Cup, adding that it was decided by the selection panel.

"In terms of this series, you would have noticed in the Bangladesh One-Day series, we made a number of changes to bring in some new players, and Mohammad Rizwan was still in that squad. And coming into this series, we've made a couple of other changes," Hesson told reporters.

"Because in 18 months time we have a World Cup, so we need to look at the options we have from a working people's point of view, and that was something that the selection panel decided," he added.

Hesson further addressed Rizwan's removal from the ODI captaincy following a 2-1 series defeat away against West Indies in August 2025, saying that the team had not performed in the format and could win only two matches in 12 months until then.

"By the time I arrived, Rizwan was not in the T20I squad; he certainly was not the captain. So, he has not been playing T20 cricket since I've been involved," Hesson stated.

"In terms of ODIs, yes, Mohammad Rizwan started as the captain in the West Indies, and we felt we needed a change at the end of that series because we had won two games in 12 months. So, the team had not performed.

"Sure, 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."