File photo of Mohammad Rizwan© AFP
Former Pakistan cricket team fast bowler Sikander Bakht blasted Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for not participating in the National T20 Cup which is organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Both star players were not included in the squad for the T20I series against New Zealand following Pakistan’s disastrous show in the Champions Trophy 2025. However, the duo decided to opt out of the national tournament – a move that resulted in a lot of criticism. Bakht asked PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi to be ‘strict’ with the star batters and stop the central contracts of these players.
Bakht went on to say that the decision to not play in tournaments organised by PCB means that the players are insulting the governing body and they should be made to pay for their decisions.
“They are employees of the Pakistan Cricket Board. They get 60 lakh per month, so they must play in the tournaments the PCB is organising. The buck stops with PCB. They have to make sure that players are available. If you are playing club cricket and not playing the tournament the board has organised, it means you are insulting the PCB,” Bakht told Geo Super.
“This shouldn’t happen. Mohsin Naqvi needs to be strict. He comes off as a polite person, but he needs to change his ways. You have to ask what is happening. Be strict. Stop their central contracts,” he added.
Rizwan was spotted playing a club cricket match in Peshawar as photographs of him playing no-look shots were highlighted on social media.
Rizwan, who normally makes it a point to play in domestic cricket when there are no international commitments, has apparently opted to play club cricket as he recently returned after performing Umrah in Mecca and wants to relax before going to New Zealand for the three-match ODI series.
Rizwan, Babar and Naseem were all dropped by the national selectors for the ongoing five-match T20 series in New Zealand with a new-look Pakistan side losing the first game by nine wickets.
Babar is also presently in Mecca for Umrah. The National T20 Cup is scheduled to run until March 27 with all available players told to play for their domestic associations.
(With PTI inputs)
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