Rizwan was handed the ODI leadership reins in October 2024.
In a surprising move, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sacked Mohammad Rizwan as the ODI captain, appointing fast bowler Shaheen Afridi as his replacement.
The decision comes less than a year after Rizwan was handed the leadership reins following Babar Azam’s resignation from the post in October 2024.
While the official PCB statement announcing the change did not mention Rizwan’s name or provide specific reasons for his removal, a report published in TOI claims that the wicketkeeper-batter has been stripped of captaincy owing to his refusal to promote betting companies.
"Rizwan had informed the PCB that he wouldn’t endorse betting companies, which is the main reason behind his sacking. He was against the PCB’s collaboration with surrogate betting firms," TOI quoted a PCB source as saying.
Earlier this year, Rizwan had refused to promote the logo of a betting firm while playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He participated in the competition by donning a jersey without the main sponsor’s logo, which was of a betting website.
The decision to remove Rizwan as ODI captain has raised eyebrows across the Pakistan cricket community.
Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif has blamed coach Mike Hesson for Rizwan’s ouster, alleging that the latter’s open support for Palestine during the Gaza-Israel conflict may have influenced the decision.
“Just because he picked up the Palestine flag, you would sack him as captain? This mindset has come that a non-Islamic captain should come in an Islamic country,” Latif said in a video going viral on the internet.
“Mike Hesson is the one behind this decision, right? He isn't someone who likes this culture in the dressing room. He would want to finish such a culture in the dressing room,” he added.
The decision to appoint Shaheen Afridi captain was finalised in a meeting in Islamabad, attended by white-ball coach Mike Hesson, High Performance Director Aqib Javed, and members of the national selection committee.
Shaheen, 24, will make his ODI captaincy debut in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa, starting November 4 in Faisalabad.