Is Mohammed Rizwan's captaincy is the reason for Pakistan's downfall?

Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, Pakistan had a horrible performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 in India, where they failed to qualify for the semifinal stage. That led to the veteran stepping down from the responsibility, as the Pakistan side was needed to shoulder the responsibility of the national side. 

For the next year, Pakistan didn’t play a single 50-over fixture, which gave their selectors enough time to work on the next leader. Shaheen Shah Afridi’s name was discussed, but being a fast bowler, there was a risk of the pacer being rested in a few series. That’s when the attention moved to the experienced wicket-keeper batter, Mohammed Rizwan.

Mohammed Rizwan’s successful start with three successive ODI series victories

It was a great start for the Pakistan side to end the 2024 season as they earned three successive away ODI series victories in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Down under, they lost the opening clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the home side chased down 204 runs with two wickets in hand. But the tourists made a cracking comeback in the second game, chasing down 169 runs with nine wickets in hand.

During the series decider at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the Green Brigade blew away the home side for 140 runs in the first innings before they chased down the target by eight wickets and nearly 25 overs to spare.

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They flew to Zimbabwe, as Rizwan got a break from the leadership before a huge trip to South Africa. As expected, Salman Ali Agha led the side perfectly to earn a 2-1 series victory. In the last game, they destroyed the home side for 204 runs to earn the 99-run victory.

But the biggest challenge was going to be in the Rainbow Nation, which hadn’t lost a 50-over series for a long time at home. Pakistan chased down 242 runs in the opening fixture at Boland Park in Paarl before restricting the home side for 248 runs in the 329-run defense at Newlands in Cape Town during the second encounter.

During the third fixture, they rolled over the Proteas for 271 runs in their chase of 309 runs to mark the 36-run victory, to record the 2-1 series win. It was a golden period, as many expected them to dominate the home Champions Trophy 2025.

Pakistan’s poor performance in ODIs since January 2025

The new year hasn’t gone well for the Pakistan side in the 50-over format. They played three group-stage clashes in the Champions Trophy 2025 and still couldn’t win a single clash, with the final encounter ending as a no-result against Bangladesh, with the game being abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Fakhar Zaman got injured in the curtain-raiser of the event as Pakistan leaked 320 runs in the first innings to New Zealand after Tom Latham remained unbeaten on 118 runs in 104 balls with the help of 10 boundaries and three sixes at a strike rate of 113.46. The home side added just 260 runs on the board, which was never enough to win the contest.

They flew to Dubai for the second clash against India, who went with three spinners in the game. Their batters got starts, but none of them were able to put a huge score on the board. Captain Rizwan smashed 46 runs in 77 balls while Saud Shakeel, promoted to number three, cracked 62 runs in 76 deliveries.

Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 100 runs, with Shreyas Iyer’s 56 runs in 67 balls, led their chase in 42.3 overs by six wickets. Even if they had won the final game against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi, things would have remained the same.

Just after the end of the tournament, Pakistan lost the opening clash against New Zealand in Napier as they made 271 runs and fell short by 73 runs in the chase of 345 runs. In the second clash, their batting failed in the 293-run chase by 84 runs, while the trend continued in Mount Maunganui as they were short of the 265-run chase by 43 runs.

Then came the recent away three-match series against the West Indies, where they won the first game in Trinidad by chasing 284 runs by five wickets with seven balls to spare. However, in the last two encounters, their batting failed terribly after getting bundled out for 92 runs in the third game’s chase to give away a win of 202 runs, losing the first ODI series to West Indies in 34 years.

As captain of Pakistan’s ODI side, Rizwan has smashed 625 runs in 18 innings at an average of 41.66 and a strike rate of just 74/94. With the help of three fifties and one century at the best score of unbeaten 122 runs.