Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan left red-faced in Big Bash League after being forced to retire out

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan found himself in an embarrassing situation after being forced to retire out by Melbourne Renegades in the ongoing Big Bash League in Australia. Rizwan, who had recently been removed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain, was batting on 26 off 23 balls during Renegades’ away clash against Sydney Thunder at the Sydney Showground Stadium on Monday when he was asked to return to the dugout.

Rizwan has alternated between Nos 3 and 4 in the 21st season of Australia’s premier T20 competition, and was batting at two-down in the bottom-of-the-table clash between Renegades and Thunder on Monday, in which the latter elected to field.

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The 33-year-old walked in at the halfway stage of Renegades’ innings following Jake Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal, but struggled to collect boundaries thereafter barring medium pacer Ryan Hadley’s second over, in which he struck a four and a six in successive deliveries.

Fellow Pakistani Hassan Khan too was off to a cautious start but shifted gears soon after and was doing a much better job when it came to steering the team towards a competitive total. Khan was batting on 36 off 23 deliveries, having struck four sixes until then, while Rizwan was striking at less than 120, the scoreboard reading 154/4 with a couple of overs to be bowled.

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Muhammad Rizwan has been retired out by the Melbourne Renegades 👀 #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/AuTGoTIHqb

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 12, 2026

The Renegades thus decided to call Rizwan back to the dugout in order to maximise their chances of posting a total in excess of 180, with captain Will Sutherland joining Khan at the centre. The 2018-19 champions ended up posting 170/8 on the board, collecting a couple of boundaries and losing three wickets, with Khan (46) missing out on a half-century and Sutherland getting run-out for 1 shortly after his arrival at the crease.

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Thunder, however, would go on to collect only their second win in their ninth outing of the season, with the target being reduced to 140 from 16 overs due to rain. Chris Green (34 not out off 13) and Nic Maddinson (30 not out off 17) starred with the bat for the home team, helping Thunder chase the target down with four deliveries to spare.