Mohammad Rizwan Accepts Match-Fixing Like Approach In PSL

Mohammad Rizwan on fixing-like approach in PSL 2026 [Source: AFP]

In yet another shocking incident after a list of mishappenings around the PSL 2026 season, the Rawalpindiz are the newest team, who find themselves in a questionable position as we approach the end of the season.

Led by Mohammad Rizwan, the Rawalpindiz have been the worst team of the competition with only a solitary win in their 10 matches. Yet, they still had a role to play in the playoff qualification scenarios on Sunday afternoon as they faced the Hyderabad Kingsmen.

With two teams fighting for one spot, how Rawalpindiz performed in their final game of the season could have determined the team finishing fourth. Keeping that in mind, captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted to trying to play with a match-fixing-like approach and influence the points table.

Rizwan’s shocking admission of a match-fixing-like approach in PSL

At the start of the afternoon fixture on the Sunday double-header, Rawalpindiz were already knocked out of the tournament, but the Hyderabad Kingsmen were fighting for the last spot in the top-4. The Kingsmen, who stood 6th on the table with 8 points, had a chance to topple the fourth-placed Lahore Qalandars and reach the knockout round.

Additionally, they also put on a massive 244/6 in 20 overs, courtesy of fifties from Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khan and Kusal Perera. However, as the Rawalpindiz looked to chase down the score, Rizwan revealed trying to help Lahore Qalandars to qualify for the eliminator by winning the match.

According to Rizwan’s admission, he thought Hyderabad Kingsmen’s performance against the Islamabad United was not good enough to take them to the playoffs.

“At the start, I wished that Lahore would qualify; there’s a special affection for them, that’s a different matter. During the strategic timeout, I told Usman Khawaja that, considering how Hyderabad played their last match, they don’t deserve it. This could be my wrong thinking as well & I apologize for it,” he said in the presser.

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PSL 2026 playoff teams locked

Despite a valiant 66* off 43 for Usman Khawaja and 26 off 16 for Mohammad Rizwan, the Rawalpindiz, like the whole PSL 2026 season, crumbled like a deck of cards and got bowled out for 136. They lost their final league game by 108 runs and crashed out of the tournament with a record-low of 2 points.

Notably, this is the second season in a row that a Mohammad Rizwan-led team has won only one of their 10 league matches and got knocked out of the tournament. He had the same 1/10 win record with Multan Sultans last year.

With the final league game being played at the moment, Peshawar Zalmi are fixed at number 1 in the table with 17 points. The winner of Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United will face the Zalmi in Qualifier 1, and the loser will face the Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Eliminator.

Rizwan's horrible T20 form continues

The out-of-favour Pakistan wicketkeeper batter recently missed out on the T20 World Cup, courtesy of a poor T20 form for over a year. At the time when the squad was announced, he had scored 187 runs in 10 BBL 2025/26 matches at a record low strike rate of 102.74.

With the speculations of T20 retirement brewing, he could only manage 204 runs in PSL 2026 in 10 innings at a strike rate of 116.57.

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