"Didn't Deserve To Play": Mohammad Rizwan Clears Air Over Rumoured Tiff With Sarfaraz Ahmed
Mohammad Rizwan's exclusion from Pakistan's playing XI for the home Test series against New Zealand had taken fans and experts by surprise
Mohammad Rizwan's exclusion from Pakistan's playing XI for the home Test series against New Zealand had taken fans and experts by surprise. However, the man who replaced him, Sarfaraz Ahmed, for the two-match series, was named player of the series, having scored 335 runs in four innings at an incredible average of 83.75. During a recent interaction, Rizwan has made a shock revelation regarding his exclusion from the team. Rizwan revealed that he himself asked the team management to drop him, as he didn't deserve his place in the playing XI.
"You can ask the head coach Saqlain Mushtaq that what I told him after the end of the England Test series. I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because that is what I wanted. I personally thought that since I wasn't able to perform, I didn't deserve to play in the next series. Some players said that every player goes through this phase and you can't sit on the bench based on few failures. I went to the coach and captain myself and told them that you can drop me because I haven't performed," Rizwan told Cricket Pakistan in an interview.
Rizwan added that he asked the management to play Sarfaraz, who had been performing well in domestic the circuit.
"Two players are witnesses to this conversation. Sarfaraz has been performing in domestic and deserves his chance now. So, I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because I asked for his inclusion. Whoever performs best for Pakistan deserves to play. I was never hurt when I was benched during PSL in the past. I thought they were honest with the team, and it was the team's requirement at the time to keep me on the bench," he added.
Pakistan Cricket Team
Sarfaraz Ahmed