Lahore, Oct 27: Wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan was on Sunday named Pakistan’s ODI and T20 captain, replacing Babar Azam, as the selectors announced the squads for the white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe beginning November 4.
Salman Ali Agha was made vice-captain for all future ODI and T20 international assignments.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in their Australia tour, beginning with the first match in Melbourne (ODI) on November 4, and that will be Rizwan’s first assignment as captain.
Agha will lead the T20I side in Zimbabwe as Rizwan is rested under a workload management plan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe — for three ODIs and three T20Is — is from November 24 to December 5. The first match — an ODI — will be played in Bulawayo.
Babar, pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah returned to the Pakistan team for the Australia tour after being sidelined for two Tests against England. However, they have been rested for the Zimbabwe tour.
The PCB first announced the squads for the two white-ball tours before Rizwan was named the skipper for the ODI and T20I assignments in Australia, as well as the 50-over contest in Zimbabwe.
Many new faces have been brought into the squads, while senior players like Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan missed out on selection.
Fakhar is facing an inquiry from the Pakistan Cricket Board for tweeting in support of Babar before the selectors dropped him for the England Tests.
In some bold steps, the selectors have decided to use the ODIs and T20Is in Zimbabwe to test new players.
PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi told a media conference here on Sunday that Babar “didn’t want to be captain” and “no one forced him to resign as captain”.
“Babar is an asset. He spoke to me and he told me he didn’t want to be captain and let me make it clear that no one forced him to resign as captain. It is his own personal decision. He had sought advice before resigning. He wants to focus on his batting,” Naqvi said.
“After Babar’s decision I spoke to all selectors and five mentors and discussed the issue and everyone felt unanimously that Rizwan should be made captain in white ball with Salman Ali Agha as his vice captain.” He also said that Aaqib Javed is presently convenor of all selection committee meetings.
The 32-year-old Rizwan, who debuted in white-ball cricket in 2015, has played in 74 ODIs and 102 T20Is till date, scoring 5,401 runs with four centuries and accounting for 143 dismissals behind the stumps.
“I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain. Representing Pakistan on the global stage is the greatest privilege and to now be entrusted with leading such a talented and exciting group of players is a tremendous honour,” Rizwan said in the PCB statement.
“Joining the ranks of some of Pakistan’s legendary limited-overs captains truly is the icing on the cake.” He said he is committed to giving his “absolute best” in the new role and look forward to working closely with the selectors, coaches and “the immensely talented teammates”.
Rizwan told the media that he had spoken to the selectors and they were unanimous that going forward there was a need to increase the pool of players and also to give exposure to new players.
“We are looking at the future and that is why we have included a number of new players in the squads for the Australia and Zimbabwe tours. We have the Champions Trophy and the next T20 World Cup in mind.” Rizwan said he would be very much part of the selection committee and made it clear that there were no groupings in the team.
Aaqib said the selectors were trying to find out players for both red and white ball formats.
Naqvi said that Fakhar Zaman should not have tweeted on Babar Azam’s exclusion and said the matter would now be handled by a disciplinary committee.
“His issue is mainly about fitness and he has been told to work on his fitness. And yes obviously we cannot allow players to tweet against the decision of selectors. He has given his reply apparently and we will look into it.” (PTI)
