Mohammad Rizwan breaks silence on reports of Pakistan players being fined for T20 World Cup early ouster

Here's what Mohammad Rizwan had to say about the reports of Pakistan players being fined for the early ouster from the T20 World Cup.

Updated on: Mar 8, 2026, 07:09:30 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is a part of the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh; however, ahead of the upcoming contest, the entire discourse has been dominated by the reports of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fining the players for poor show in the T20 World Cup, where the Green Shirts failed to make it to the semi-finals. Rizwan, who was not part of the World Cup squad, was asked to comment on the same, and it was then that he stated he could only give a comment once the PCB came out in the open and officially announced the penalty.

Mohammad Rizwan is a part of Pakistan's ODI squad for the Bangladesh series. (AFP)

According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, the PCB penalised all squad members, imposing a fine of PKR 5 million (approx. USD 18,000). This was imposed immediately following Pakistan's poor performance against India in the group stage, where the Salman Ali Agha-led side went down by 61 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

However, the PCB had told the players that the fines might be waived if they reached the semi-finals. However, that wasn't to be after the side failed to defeat Sri Lanka by 65 runs in Pallekele. The Cricinfo report confirmed that the fines were introduced solely due to poor field performances.

Also Read: PCB breaks silence on reports of Pakistan cricketer Salman Mirza ‘misbehaving’ with a woman in Sri Lanka hotel

“Several people have asked me about this, but nothing official has come out yet. The PCB are yet to come out in the open and give a confirmation regarding this. If there is a fine or penalty of 50 lakh, it should be announced officially. Right now, these are just media reports and nothing else. I can only comment when it is announced officially,” Rizwan told reporters.

Earlier, Rizwan had also defended Pakistan's early exit from the T20 World Cup, saying the side had just crashed out on net run rate and that it was not a case of the Green Shirts giving a poor performance.

“Pakistan went out of the event on net run rate, not because of losing outright,” he said.

‘Don’t watch India's matches'

When asked to comment on India's seven-run win over England in the T20 World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium, Rizwan said he doesn't watch matches featuring the Men in Blue.

“Sorry, I don't watch their matches,” said Rizwan.

The Pakistan selectors recently dropped Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from the ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh. The decision came in the wake of poor performances in the World Cup, where both players had below-par showings.

The Pakistan squad landed in Dhaka on Sunday morning for the upcoming ODI series, which is slated to begin on Wednesday, March 11.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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