According to emerging reports, Babar Azam, who resigned from the captaincy position a few weeks ago, will be replaced by well-known batter and wicket-keeper Muhammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s new white-ball captain. Muhammad Rizwan is all set to get in charge of the team as a Captain. For the first time, as per reports, the 32-year-old wicket-keeper will be selected as international captain. As reported by the Press Trust of India, Rizwan will be declared for captaincy soon by the Pakistan Cricket Board as the ODI and T20I captain before the upcoming tours against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. A total of nine ODIs and nine T20 internationals will be played by the Pakistan Cricket team across the three countries, followed by two Test matches against South Africa before they come back home. So far, no change in the red-ball captaincy of the team is expected.
Mohammad Rizwan is emerging as the leading candidate to succeed Babar Azam as captain, according to discussions between the Pakistan Cricket team’s selectors, which includes Aqib Javed, Aleem Dar, and Azhar Ali, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, and white-ball coach Gary Kirsten. His seniority and proven loyalty as a keeper-batter make him a strong contender for the role.
“Rizwan because of his seniority, his reliability as a player, and because of his experience of leading teams well in domestic cricket and PSL is a front runner to become white-ball captain,” a source told PTI.
The source reported that there is a high possibility of including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah in the white ball squad against international series by the selectors as these players were on rest for the last two Tests against England. It is scheduled that the team will depart for Australia after their last test with England to end on October 28. They will play the first ODI against Australia on November 4 in Melbourne. Additionally, there are also chances that selectors may declare different squads for each tour because they want to give a chance to fresh young players and some rest to experienced players.
Mohammad Rizwan’s Credentials As A Player And Captain
A determined right-handed batter who never gives up, Mohammad Rizwan has achieved great success in white-ball cricket. He played a total of 67 ODI innings, the right-handed batter has scored 2088 runs, including three centuries and thirteen half-centuries. However, he is also known best player of T20I, making 3313 runs at an average of 48.72 in the shortest format. He is the most distinguished player of the Pakistan team and the most reliable batter across all formats. He also possesses marvelous techniques of wicketkeeping as well.
Besides batting, Rizwan has also the capabilities of captaincy as he led Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League. He proved his tactics of leading the team in PSL. Multan Sultans also led to victory under his captaincy in 2021. He was also awarded with ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year, in 2021. Rizwan can certainly take Pakistan to greater heights with his inspirational leadership and strategic sportsmanship.
With inputs from the Press Trust of India
