On Monday, December 26, Pakistan benched Mohammad Rizwan during their first Test match against New Zealand at Karachi’s National Stadium.
Rizwan scored 141 runs in the three-match Test series against England at an average of 23.50.
Including a high score of 46 in the second innings at the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium.
The 30-year-old Mohammad Rizwan has a strong T20 record, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations in Test matches.
Pakistan as of late experienced an embarrassing 0-3 misfortune to Britain in a three-match Test series played at home.
Rizwan received scores of 29, 46, 10, 30, 19, and 7 in the series
To put it another way, none of the six innings saw him score more than 50 runs.
In 27 Test matches, he has scored 1373 runs at an average of 38. possesses two centuries and seven half-centuries to his name. His best performance is 115 runs unbeaten.
Watch: Twitter reacts to Mohammad Rizwan’s removal from the starting XI.
Fast bowler Mir Hamza, who made his debut in 2018, but hasn’t played since, was also given a chance by Pakistan.
Despite not being a part of the original squad, Hamza, offspinner Sajid Khan, and pacer Shahnawaz Dahani ended up making the national team.
Pakistan wants to make a strong end to the year by giving the Kiwis a good fight after losing to England by 0-3.
Pakistan take on New Zealand with the intention of ending their four-match losing streak, which includes one match against Australia earlier this year.
This comes after a bitter and forgettable 3-0 whitewash by England at home last week.
Pakistan made two changes for the first Test at the National Bank Cricket Ground in Karachi against the Tim Southee-led team.
Sarfaraz Ahmed and left-arm pacer Mir Hamza both returned to the team after nearly four years.
However, the decision to drop Mohammad Rizwan as a result of Sarfaraz’s return has been criticized by fans on social media.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam chose to bat first after winning the toss
He made it clear after the toss that Sarfaraz, who had not played a Test since January 2019 against South Africa, had taken Rizwan’s place in the lineup.
Hamza had only made his second Test appearance, against Australia, in 2018.
Both these names were taken by break boss selector Shahid Afridi in his most memorable question and answer session on Sunday, since expecting the job.
On the eve of the series opener, he had traveled to Karachi to discuss the playing XI with captain Babar.