Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has criticized wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, accusing him of using 'religion' as an excuse to justify his poor performance in the recent T20 World Cup. Rizwan, during a press conference in his hometown Peshawar on Tuesday, reflected on both Pakistan's and his own performances in the tournament. Rizwan had a disappointing campaign, scoring 110 runs at an average of 36.66 with a strike rate of 90.90.

Rizwan acknowledged that the criticism of the team is justified and made a claim by referring to himself as the "brand ambassador of Islam."

"I believe that a human being is a brand ambassador of two things. If a person is a Muslim, he represents Islam wherever he goes. 2nd thing is that he is a brand ambassador of Pakistan. It doesn't matter what anyone says," Rizwan said during a press conference.

Shehzad, however, criticized Rizwan for diverting attention from his form by playing the "religion card."

"It is really disappointing that some players are hiding their poor performance in the World Cup by holding unnecessary press conferences and playing the religion card. Where does religion go when they lie about their fitness and when they admit they were acting on the field? Does religion teach you to deceive others and lie in the field? You are paid to perform on the field, and you join the grouping in the team instead. Religion teaches us to fulfill our responsibility with full determination and not to lie about our suffering. Some spokespeople for these players want them to be given another chance, but why? This is the Pakistan team, and it is not their home team where they can play. If they want another chance, they can make their own team and play with their friends, but not for the Pakistan cricket team anymore," Shehzad explained in a lengthy post on X.

"We will not let PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi forget the big surgery he promised. Some players of the Pakistani team are now even mocking the chairman's statement because they don't care. But we will make sure that fans get their answers and action is taken against these players. We have taken a stand, and we will not back down until this Pakistan team is back on the right track," he added.