Amir surprised by ‘sudden change’ in Rizwan’s decision-making capability

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has shared his views on wicketkeeping batter Mohammad Rizwan’s capabilities as captain.

Rizwan received backlash over Pakistan’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 which included just one frontline spinner.

Pakistan were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage after they lost successive games to New Zealand and India.

Following their elimination from the Champion Trophy 2025, reports said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was considering replacing Rizwan as the captain for New Zealand’s white-ball tour.

Amid reports of a change in Pakistan captaincy, former pacer Mohammad Amir has also taken a jibe at Rizwan over what he called his ‘weird decisions.’

“Mohammad Rizwan… You’ve gone from a Ferrari to a rickshaw now (laughs). At one point, I admired him because he had experience captaining domestic cricket and the PSL, where he led his team to the finals,” he said when asked about Rizwan’s captaincy during an interview.

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According to the former Pakistan pacer, the wicketkeeping batter’s decision-making has changed drastically in the last few months.

“His decision-making changed completely. I’m not sure what caused this shift since I haven’t been in the dressing room with him during that period. His choices now seem unusual,” Mohammad Amir said.

Amir recalled Rizwan as a bold captain when he was leading his PSL team and domestic sides.

“It seemed he would bring about positive changes. However, within a few months, it felt like he had drifted away from the cricketing mindset,” he said.

The former pacer was of the view that Rizwan could make changes to the squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, however, he did not, due to reasons unknown.

“If Rizwan claims he had no authority over selections, that’s not entirely true. The same influence that helped him become captain could have been used to shape the team, but he didn’t take that step. I don’t understand why,” Mohammad Amir said.