'Childish' & 'brainless' decisions: Ahmed Shehzad calls out skipper Rizwan

With Pakistan losing the tri-nation series final against New Zealand Friday, former Pakistani cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has called out white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan’s tactical decisions, going on to label his approach as "childish" and "brainless".

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Shehzad slammed Rizwan’s decision to bat first in the match, calling it “brainless” and "lacking understanding of the pitch conditions".

“Pakistan’s bubble has burst ahead of the Champions Trophy,” Shehzad said, adding that it was a "mind-boggling decision", especially after seeing in the previous match that the pitch was better for batting at night.

"The ball doesn’t grip for spinners. Still, the team decided to bat first—no clue,” Shehzad said. 

The 33-year-old also expressed his frustration with Rizwan’s team selection, particularly the decision to leave out a specialist bowler in favour of an all-rounder. He argued that this weakened the team’s bowling attack and that Rizwan’s cautious approach favoured a deep batting lineup over a well-balanced team.

“In every decision, the Pakistan captain wants to play it safe with batting,” Shehzad explained. 

“Whether it’s not having enough spinners in the Champions Trophy squad or, in this match, playing Faheem Ashraf as an all-rounder to strengthen the batting at the expense of Mohammad Hasnain. Yet, Ashraf only bowled two overs,” he said. 

Shehzad warned that such “childish decisions” could hurt Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Pakistan on Friday lost the tri-series final to New Zealand by five wickets. Despite outclassing South Africa in the second match of the series, the national side's batting lineup crumbled before Kiwi bowlers, putting up a target of mere 243 runs.

New Zealand comfortably won the match by five wickets and with 28 balls to spare.