Unpredictability factor is mainly due to our culture: Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan's cricket team has long been familiar with its unpredictability, and capable of pulling off surprising wins and suffering unexpected defeats. Their recent record-breaking chase against South Africa in the tri-nation series at Karachi was another example of this. Addressing the trend of Pakistan cricket, white-ball skipper Mohammad Rizwan opened up on the country's culture, revealing that it has always been a part of their identity.

Pakistan's reputation for unpredictability in cricket has seen them lose a Test series at home against Bangladesh to winning a historic ODI series in Australia after 22 years. The latest instance of this came in the tri-nation series when the Men in Green successfully chased down 353 against South Africa, recording their biggest-ever ODI chase and the seventh-highest in men's ODIs.

Rizwan played a crucial role with an unbeaten 122, while vice-captain Salman Ali Agha hammered his maiden ODI century with 134 runs. Their partnership of 260 runs was important in securing the win, eliminating South Africa from the tournament.

"The answer to this is very long because the unpredictability factor is mainly due to our culture. It's always been the case. Our kids don't know what to do in life. So if you look at our cricket, whether it's Australia, Zimbabwe or even today, there has always been this unpredictability. It's a rarity that we win games one-sided. We are putting the efforts, but this is not our cricket's fault alone, our culture has always been like this. Even our kids future is unpredictable," Rizwan said at the post-match press conference.

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With this victory, Pakistan secured a place in the final of the tri-nation series against New Zealand. This tournament is as an important buildup to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to begin on February 19. The event will follow a hybrid model, with India’s matches being held in the UAE and the rest of the games taking place in Pakistan due to political issues between the two nations.