'Cricket chhod ke maulana ban jaa': Rizwan trolled after comical dismissal

NEW DELHI: Things are not going Pakistan’s star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan’s way. After being dropped from the Asia Cup squad and demoted in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) central contracts, his poor run has now extended to the Caribbean Premier League.

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Playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Rizwan managed only 3 runs before being dismissed by spinner Jomel Warrican. Attempting a sweep, he missed the turn completely, lost his balance, fell to the ground, and saw his stumps shattered. The dismissal drew laughter from players on the field and even from the opposition dressing room. He was badly trolled on social media as well. A dejected Rizwan shook his head in disappointment as he walked back to the pavilion.Earlier, the PCB had scrapped the top category of its central contracts after a series of poor results, demoting former captains Babar Azam and Rizwan to category B for the first time since the system was introduced 21 years ago.

Despite being among Pakistan’s biggest cricketing names, both Azam and Rizwan lost their places in the T20I squads for the upcoming tri-series and Asia Cup following inconsistent performances over the past year.

Joining them in category B are T20I captain Salman Agha, Fakhar Zaman, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Meanwhile, Test skipper Shan Masood was pushed further down, from category B to D.Pakistan’s decline has been stark across formats. They beat England 2-1 in a home Test series last year but subsequently lost 2-0 in South Africa and drew 1-1 at home against a struggling West Indies, finishing last in the World Test Championship.In ODIs, Pakistan registered their first series win in Australia in 22 years and blanked South Africa 3-0, but then suffered a shocking first-round exit from the Champions Trophy, which they co-hosted with Dubai.The downward spiral continued in T20Is as well, with a first-round exit at last year’s T20 World Cup and a 2-1 series defeat in Bangladesh.Pakistan will next feature in a tri-series in Sharjah from August 29, also involving Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, followed by the Asia Cup in Dubai.