Shaheen Shah Afridi has dismissed suggestions that Mohammad Rizwan’s omission from Pakistan’s ODI squad for the home series against Australia means the former captain’s international career is finished. The Pakistan captain said Rizwan remains part of the picture even after being left out of the three-match series, which runs from May 30 to June 4.

The reaction landed because Rizwan’s name had been one of the biggest talking points in Pakistan cricket this week. He was replaced in the squad by Rohail Nazir after a poor run in Bangladesh, where he scored 54 runs at an average of 19.33, and reports had already claimed he was not being considered for the World Cup 2027. That made Afridi’s public defence more than a routine vote of confidence; it was a direct answer to a selection call that had begun to look like something bigger.

Afridi said Rizwan’s career was “far from over” and pointed to his own experience of being dropped and coming back, while also noting that Babar Azam had once been out of the side before returning. He said Pakistan needed to give chances to younger players too, naming Rohail and Muhammad Ghazi Ghouri as the kind of cricketers who have to be tested if the team wants to prepare properly for a World Cup.

That argument sits against Rizwan’s record and the scale of the omission. He led Pakistan to back-to-back ODI series wins away in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa after taking over the captaincy in late 2024, and he has 2,979 runs in 94 ODI innings at an average of 40.80. For a player with those numbers, and for a former captain, leaving him out of a home series against Australia was always going to draw attention.

It also comes with an edge. Afridi replaced Rizwan as ODI captain after Pakistan’s 2-1 series defeat to West Indies in August 2025, so the two men are already linked by one of the most sensitive decisions in the side. The latest move is being framed as part of Pakistan’s build-up to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, but the reports around Rizwan’s place in the ODI setup and the longer-term plan have only sharpened the debate over who is still in favour.

Afridi tried to close that gap by insisting no player’s career could be ended by him or by anyone else, and by saying hard work and performance would be rewarded. For Rizwan, though, the next step is simple and unresolved: he is out for Australia, the door to 2027 is not clearly open, and his return will depend on what Pakistan decide once this series is over.