KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has criticized white ball head coach Mike Hesson’s recent comments regarding the sacking of Mohammad Rizwan and the team’s performance record.
During a recent interview, Bhatt questioned the creation of stories around Pakistan’s results and Rizwan’s removal from the team.
“It’s calculated that it’s hard to make the right impression. Onlookers will think I’ve only won two matches in 12 months. What’s the point of talking about back-to-back wins when you’re not in 12 months against Australia and South Africa?” Bud said.
He further pointed to Rizwan’s involvement alongside senior players during key series wins, arguing that the contribution of established players was being overlooked.
“I was playing with him and he won tournaments when you weren’t resting, and if you don’t win, people question your work. It’s strange to hear that he hasn’t won in the last 12 months. Since you were here, what else can he say? Why is he talking like this?” He added.
The former opener urged the team management to be more transparent about selections and changes, especially when discussing senior players and future planning.
“Why don’t we just say he’s our veteran and look at the youngsters? It’s that simple. He’s not out, but we’re building a backup. Why hesitate to tell the truth? Why present incomplete or misleading clarity?” Butt said.
It was described as part of a wider strategy to explore squad depth ahead of the next World Cup after the Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach revealed he had dropped the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman from the ODI squad for the ODI series against Australia.
Hessen said the selection committee made the decision as part of long-term planning.
“As for this series, you will have noticed in the Bangladesh one-day series, we made a lot of changes to bring in some new players and Mohammad Rizwan was still in the squad. And in this series, we made some other changes,” Hesson said.
“Because we have the World Cup in 18 months, so we have to look at the options that we have… That’s what the selection committee decided.”
He also highlighted the decision to remove Rizwan as ODI captain following Pakistan’s 2–1 series defeat in the West Indies in August 2025, pointing to the team’s lackluster success in the previous year.
“At the time I came, Rizwan was not in the T20I squad… In terms of ODIs… we had won two games in 12 months. So, the team was underperforming,” Hesson explained.