Veteran batter Ahmed Shahzad has lashed out at Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan for his "mind-boggling" blunder to bat first in the tri-nation series final against New Zealand. On Friday, New Zealand beat Pakistan by 5 wickets to win the tri-nation series final at the National Stadium in Karachi. After opting to bat first, Pakistan were bowled out for 242 on a two-paced track, and New Zealand achieved the target in just 45.2 overs. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Shahzad questioned Rizwan's decision to bat, especially after Pakistan chased down 353 a couple of days prior against South Africa at the very same ground.
"It was a mind-boggling decision (to bat first) because we had seen in the previous match that the pitch becomes better to bat on in the night, the ball doesn't grip on the surface for the spinners. Still, the Pakistan team decided to bat first," Shahzad said on his YouTube channel.
Shahzad feels Pakistan are only capable of beating second or third-string oppositions, adding that the Rizwan-led side has been brutally exposed by New Zealand ahead of the Champions Trophy.
"Pakistan's bubble has burst ahead of the Champions Trophy. You get a chance to win only when the opposition performs below par or doesn't have their main players playing," he added.
Shahzad also questioned the logic behind the decision to drop pacer Mohammad Hasnain at the expense of all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, especially considering that the latter only bowled two overs in the match.
"In his every decision, the Pakistan captain wants to play safe with batting, be it by being a spinner short in the Champions Trophy squad or this match, where they played (bowling all-rounder) Faheem Ashraf to have a longer batting line-up at the expense of (fast bowler) Mohammad Hasnain and still used him (Ashraf) for just two overs," Shahzad pointed out.
After the match, Rizwan had explained the logic behind his decision to bat first.
"We wanted to bat first because we thought in the second half, the pitch would be tough. But their bowlers put a squeeze on us. We were looking to target 280 but they got it back. We were 15 runs short. They were bowling very well. Me and Agha were trying to build the stand. We tried doing that, but they were not giving us the balls. We kept the target to 280, not 300. My wicket was crucial. [Fielding] We have to bring the improvement. This is one department we are lacking. [Abrar] He has really improved. The others have to improve as well. [CT'25] We wanted to prepare for the 19th as well. So that is why we wanted to bat first as well," Rizwan said at the post-match presentation ceremony.