Rizwan bans non-Muslims from entering players’ rooms: Imam-ul-Haq’s comment goes viral ahead of PAK vs BAN match

Ahead of Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, a clip of Imam-ul-Haq speaking about PAK captain Mohammad Rizwan has gone viral.

In the video clip, which is from a December 2024 interview, Imam is asked on The Ultra Edge Podcast by Cricwick to choose a “leader” from his team. Imam laughs at first as he says nobody is coming to his mind.

Eventually, he speaks about Rizwan. However, the reasons he gives have no direct connections with cricket in general. According to Imam, Rizwan is a good leader because of prioritising religious practices.

He arranges prayer rooms and creates WhatsApp groups for prayer timings. He also restricts non-Muslims from entering their rooms and arranges white sheets for Namaz.

A social media user shared the clip on February 26 and compared Rizwan’s actions with those of other captains who make strategy, enforce discipline, decide practice timings and make sure everyone is focused on the next game.

“And Pakistanis are crying why they are not doing well….” the Twitter (now X) user quipped.

The post has gone viral, with nearly 6.5 lakh views and over 2,000 retweets. The user has argued that Pakistani cricketers prioritise religious preaching over focusing on becoming world-class players.

The post connects to historical issues within Pakistan cricket, referencing Danish Kaneria, a Hindu cricketer who played for Pakistan. Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar earlier alleged that Kaneria had faced discrimination from teammates because of his religion. He was allegedly asked to eat separately as well.

Social media reactions

Many social media users connected it with Pakistan’s early exit from the Champions Trophy 2025.

“Misplaced Priorities. Professional responsibilities can wait,” wrote one user.

“Cricket is a religion. But this shows how a religion can make space in cricket,” came from another.

“This is the danger of letting religion into every field. Religion needs to be kept in the personal, letting it enter the public space occassionally,” wrote another user.