Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as the captain of Pakistan’s white-ball cricket teams,  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced on Sunday. The development came after Babar Azam, on October 2, stepped down as the captain of white-ball teams, saying he wanted “to prioritise my performance, enjoy batting, and spend quality time with family”. Rizwan’s first assignment as the skipper will be a three-match one-day international (ODI) and T20I series against Australia commencing from November 4.

Furthermore, Naqvi announced that spin-allrounder Salman Ali Agha has been named vice-captain of the Pakistan cricket team. However, Agha will lead the T20I side in Zimbabwe as Rizwan is rested under a workload management plan, stated a press release issued by the cricket governing body.  The 32-year-old Rizwan, who debuted in white-ball cricket in 2015, has played 74 ODIs and 102 T20Is to date, scoring 5,401 runs with four centuries and accounting for 143 dismissals behind the stumps.

As he leads the team in the opening ODI against Australia in Melbourne on 4 November, Rizwan will become Pakistan’s 31st captain. For the first T20I in Brisbane on 14 November, he will be the 12th to captain Pakistan in the format. Addressing a presser alongside the newly-appointed captain and selectors, the PCB chief said after Babar resigned from the captaincy, the board started consultations with the selection committee and mentors.

“It was nearly a unanimous opinion that Rizwan should be the captain and Salman should be vice-captain,” he said, adding that both the players were in contact with the selectors and he met Rizwan yesterday as well. He wished both the players the best and prayed for their success while stressing the need to promote young talent and respect domestic cricket.

The chairman also praised the selection committee for “working non-stop” for the Two Tests against England — which the Green Shirts won and secured a much-need series victory after three years. Terming Babar an “asset” for the Pakistan cricket team, Naqvi asserted that the batter contacted him and refused to play as captain. “It was his [Azam] decision [...] He wanted to focus on his game.”

He further said that they want the former captain to return to his form — referring to a dip in his batting performance across all formats.  “A lot has been done, but much remains to be achieved,” he added. Responding to a question regarding opener Fakhar Zaman, Naqvi acknowledged an issue with the left-handed batter’s recent tweet, but said bigger problem was his “fitness”. 

For his part, Rizwan acknowledged the newly-announced squads for the Australia tour, saying: “It's a balanced side comprising experienced as well as youngsters.” “Our long-term focus is to achieve a good combination in the squad,” he said, noting that in the white-ball format, the focus should be on “fitness”.

He also lauded the performance of youngsters in the recent Champions One-Day Cup, saying that their priority is to take the young players to international standard and remove the gap. Earlier in the day, the cricket board had announced the squad for the upcoming series against Australia and Zimbabwe. 

ODI squad for Australia: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi

T20I squad for Australia: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan

ODI squad for Zimbabwe: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir

T20I squad for Zimbabwe: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)