KARACHI: While terming Bangladesh strong contenders on their home turf, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan on Saturday defended the selection of budding wicket-keeper Ghazi Ghori in the national squad for an away three-match ODI series against them starting later this month.

The series will be held from March 11 to 15, with all fixtures set to take place at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka.

The 22-year-old Ghazi is among six uncapped players included in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour. The other uncapped ODI campaigners are Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamyl Hussain.

However, the inclusion of Ghazi has raised questions in the cricketing circles due to a limited domestic experience held by the player who has featured in only 17 List-A matches so far in which he scored 206 runs at a modest average of 20.60 with the help of one half-century. The wicket-keeper/batter in these games took 17 catches and made three stumpings.

Right-handed batter Ghazi also represented Islamabad United in a couple of games in the 2025 Pakistan Super League.

Rizwan, himself an experienced wicket-keeper/batter with 100 ODIs under his belt, insisted that the youngster deserved the chance.

“Ghazi has come into the team on the basis of performance. Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” the 33-year-old Rizwan said while talking to reporters at the National Stadium in Karachi where the ODI team was training for the forthcoming Bangladesh series.

Pakistan, the gloveman underlined, should embrace the emergence of different wicket-keeping options, which he said could eventually benefit the team.

“Right now, Ghazi is in the squad but if you look into the past, many wicket-keepers produced [good] performances. It’s good if more keepers come through the system because Pakistan might finally find what it has been searching for,” he added.

Speaking on the upcoming series, Rizwan cautioned against underestimating Bangladesh in their home conditions.

“On paper, the series may look easy [for Pakistan], but Bangladesh are always a tough side in their own conditions. The pitches there suit them,” Rizwan maintained, adding that Pakistan have the cricketers who have experience of playing in those conditions.

Replying to a question, Rizwan emphasised the importance of a captain’s role in team-building.

“If the selection committee or head coach does not listen to the captain, then that person should not be the captain,” he said. “The captain has to lead the team on the field, so his opinion must matter.”

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2026