Former Pakistan captain reacts to Mike Hesson’s statement on Mohammad Rizwan’s ODI exclusion

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has criticised white-ball head coach Mike Hesson over his recent remarks regarding Mohammad Rizwan’s exclusion and the team’s performance record, suggesting the messaging was “calculated” and lacking clarity.

During a recent interview, Butt questioned the framing of Pakistan’s results and the narrative around Rizwan’s omission from the squad.

“It is so calculated that it becomes hard to form a proper impression. The audience will think I’ve only won two matches in 12 months. What is the point of talking about back-to-back series wins against Australia and South Africa over 12 months when you weren’t even there?” Butt said.

He further pointed to Rizwan’s involvement alongside senior players during key series wins, arguing that the contribution of established players was being overlooked.

“I was playing alongside him. While you were not even resting, he was winning matches there as well. If you don’t win, people start questioning your work. It is strange to hear that he hasn’t won in the last 12 months. Since you’ve been here, what else can he say? Why speak like this?” he added.

The former opening batter also urged the team management to communicate selections and transitions more transparently, particularly when discussing senior players and future planning.

“Why not just say he is our senior player, but we also need to look towards youngsters? It is as simple as that. He is not out, but we are building a backup. Why hesitate to say the truth? Why present clarity that is incomplete or misleading?” Butt stated.

His remarks came after Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach explained the omission of experienced wicketkeeper-batter from the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia, describing it as part of a broader strategy to explore squad depth ahead of the next World Cup.

Hesson said the decision was made by the selection panel as part of long-term planning.

“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 said.

“Because in 18 months time we have a World Cup, so we need to look at the options we have… and that was something that the selection panel decided.”

He also addressed the decision to remove Rizwan from the ODI captaincy role following Pakistan’s 2-1 series defeat in the West Indies in August 2025, pointing to the team’s limited success over the previous year.

“By the time I arrived, Rizwan was not in the T20I squad… In terms of ODIs… we had won two games in 12 months. So, the team had not performed,” Hesson explained.