Rashid Latif claims Mohammad Rizwan removed as Pakistan ODI captain for supporting Palestine

"Would sack him only for openly picking up the Palestine flag?" Latif was quoted as saying in a social media interview which has now gone viral.

"A mindset can now be seen that a non-Islamic captain should come in an Islamic country," he said.

"Mike Hesson has taken the decision. He isn't someone who likes this culture in the dressing room," he said.

"He has a team of 5-6 people. He wants to finish such a culture in the dressing room," he said.

Months after a poor show in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan Cirkcet Board  has removed Rizwan as the ODI captain and replaced him with Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The pacer will lead the national side in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa, which starts Nov. 4.

Rizwan was named the Pakistani team captain 2024 after remoal of Babar Azam.

“Shaheen’s appointment for the upcoming series was finalised today following a meeting held in Islamabad, which was attended by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director High Performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection committee,” a short press release by the PCB said as quoted by Dawn News.

Afridi has picked up 66 ODIs and 92 T20Is, taking a combined 249 wickets.

In Test matches, he took 120 wickets in his career by playing 32 matches so far.