‘Mohammad Rizwan informed PCB that he wouldn't endorse…’ - Shocking reason behind Rizwan's sacking revealed: Report

In a shocking turn of events, Mohammad Rizwan was sacked as the ODI captain of Pakistan after the wicketkeeper-batter's refusal to endorse betting companies, read a report at TOI. Rizwan, who took over Pakistan's white-ball leadership duties in 2024, was earlier dropped as captain in T20Is earlier this year. He was not even named in Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 squad, where they emerged as runners-up to India.

Based on the report, Rizwan was against PCB's collaboration with the surrogate betting firms. “Rizwan had informed the PCB that he wouldn’t endorse betting companies, which is the main reason behind his sacking. He was against the PCB’s collaboration with surrogate betting firms,” a source privy to the developments was quoted as saying in the report.

This is not the first time Rizwan refused to endorse betting companies. Earlier, during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Rizwan wore a St Kitts and Nevis Patriots jersey without the main logo, which belonged to a betting firm.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif opined that Rizwan's sacking might be due to his comments about Palestine. “If he has spoken about Palestine, will you remove him from captaincy?” Latif said on his YouTube channel. “This mindset that there would be non-Islamic captains in an Islamic country is abysmal,” he added.