Pakistan skipper Rizwan’s ‘honest’ remarks on losing to India confuses everyone

By K.R. Nayar 

Dubai.  Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan’s candid remarks have raised many questions about the state of his team. Unlike the shrewd captains of other countries, he does not know how to hide his disappointment. When asked about the biggest reason for the defeat, his answer shocked everyone. “We have not made any mistakes. All three departments have made mistakes. That's why we are losing the match.” But aren’t these three departments made up of all his players, including himself?

 

Rizwan further confused everyone by saying, “If you look at it all, you can't say there was a mistake in any department.” This made one wonder whether, as a captain, he truly understands how all three departments should perform. When asked about the failure of the middle order—which includes him—he said: “Saud and I tried to build a partnership and took a lot of time. But after that, the shot selection was poor, and that’s where they got a chance to take our wickets. After that, our middle order maybe couldn’t take the pressure, and we couldn’t manage.”

 

Mohammad Rizwan at the post-match press conference 

When questioned about the team’s basic mistakes, his reply made many wonder if it was a mistake to even ask. He admitted that his team had been making mistakes for the last four matches. He then followed up with a puzzling statement: “We didn’t make a mistake in this match; we made a new mistake.” Even more surprisingly, he stated that mistakes would continue: “We are human; our team is human. Mistakes will keep happening.”

 

Rizwan also confessed that the ball wasn’t going into the gaps, making one wonder whether the Indian team should have created gaps for him. Isn't it a batter’s job to find the gaps? When asked why only one specialist spinner was picked in the playing eleven, he compared the selection to India’s, stating that they also had only one specialist spinner (Kuldeep Yadav), while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel were all-rounders. Does Rizwan mean that Pakistan no longer has spinners who are also all-rounders?

 

When discussing his role as captain in such a situation, his response made a few chuckle. “As a captain, I honestly don't like this. If you can win, then do it. If you can't, then don’t worry about it.” Another remark made some wonder whether he even cares about defeats. “I don't care if you are outside the tournament or in it. New Zealand has defeated us; India has defeated us. We accept it. We can play well; we can play badly.”

 

As a journalist, one can only say that this was the most honest response a captain has ever given.