Injuries to key players 'disturbed' Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign: Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan expressed disappointment at his team’s sub-par Champions Trophy campaign and hoped that the ‘Men in Green’ would learn from their mistakes and bounce back stronger in their next assignment. Hosts and defending champions Pakistan bowed out of the ninth edition of the ‘Mini World Cup’ without winning a single game, suffering defeats against New Zealand and India before their final Group A clash against Bangladesh was washed out without a ball bowled .

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“We wanted to do well and perform well in from of our nation. The expectations are very high. We didn’t perform well and it is disappointing for us. You can learn from your mistakes. We have made mistakes in the last few games. Hopefully, we can learn from these.

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“We are next going to New Zealand and hopefully we can perform there and the mistakes that we did against New Zealand here in Pakistan, we can learn from that. And we will do better in New Zealand,” the wicketkeeper-batter said at the post-match presentation ceremony after match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi was abandoned.

Rizwan opens up on injuries to Ayub, Fakhar

Rizwan added that Pakistan were a “disturbed” group after injuries to openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, both of whom were crucial to the team’s combination. While Ayub, who had starred in Pakistan’s 3-0 whitewash of South Africa in South Africa, had been ruled out with an ankle injury, Fakhar had injured his knee during the tournament opener against the Black Caps in Karachi.

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The Pakistan skipper, however, added that the injuries were not meant to be an excuse, and admitted that his team did not live up to expectations.

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“The guy who has been performing from the last few months in Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe… the team was combined and then suddenly when someone is injured, the team will be disturbed. As a captain, you can look forward to that as well. One side you can say that the team is disturbed, but this no excuse. Yes, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were injured, but we will learn from this,” Rizwan added.

Shanto lauds Bangla Tigers for holding game for ’long periods’

Rizwan’s Bangladeshi counterpart Najmul Hossain Shanto too was left disappointed at being denied the opportunity to sign off with a victory. Shanto, however, lauded his team for the fight that they showed in phases in the defeats against India and New Zealand, especially for “holding the game for long periods”.

“I am very disappointed. We really wanted to play this match, but can’t do anything about the weather. The way we held the game for long periods of the game was very inspiring for us in the two matches. We hope we can learn from our mistakes. We will make a proper plan and execute the plan,” Shanto said during the post-match presentation.

Bangladesh and Pakistan signed off with a point each after Thursday’s washout, the latter finishing at the bottom of Group A. Former champions New Zealand and India currently occupy the first and second spots respectively, and will lock horns in Dubai on Sunday to decide which team finishes No 1.

Group B, on the other hand, is wide open at the moment with South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan currently in contention for the semi-finals. Two-time runners-up England have been eliminated from the race to the semis after defeats against Australia (5 wickets) and Afghanistan (8 runs).