(Credit PCB)
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has suggested a surprising change in leadership for the red-ball cricket team, indicating that Mohammad Rizwan is set to assume captaincy after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. This comes following Babar Azam’s captaincy in the tournament, where Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat to the USA and failed to chase a modest target against India.
Despite being appointed T20I captain just before the event, Babar Azam’s strategies faltered throughout, resulting in Pakistan’s early exit before the Super 8 stage, a stark contrast to their runner-up finish in the previous edition.
Mohammad Rizwan will replace Shan Masood as Pakistan Skipper: Basit Ali
Basit Ali, the former Pakistan batting all-rounder, asserted that Mohammad Rizwan is slated to take over as the new captain of the Pakistan team, displacing Shan Masood from the position.
“Pakistan team has started preparations for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh which will witness two Tests. Moreover, Mohammad Rizwan will be given the leadership duties. He also added that Pakistan Cricket Board will announce the decision soon”, Basit Ali claimed in the video shared on his YouTube channel.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan faced challenges with their batting during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Despite being the top run-scorers for the team, they couldn’t guide Pakistan beyond the group stage in Group A.
In the tournament, Babar Azam maintained a strike rate of 106 across four matches. He notably scored 44 against USA in the opening match, followed by contributions of 13 versus India, 33 against Canada, and an unbeaten 32 against Ireland.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan scored 8, 33, 53, and 17 in his innings but struggled with a strike rate slightly above 90. Prior to another upcoming tournament, PCB replaced Shaheen Afridi with Babar Azam as captain for the white-ball formats.
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
In August 2024, Pakistan is scheduled to play a two-Test series against Bangladesh as part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25. Currently, several Pakistan players are engaged in the Lanka Premier League 2024 (LPL 2024) in Sri Lanka.
Shan Masood, the current Test captain, led the team to a 3-0 series loss against Australia in December last year. Looking ahead, Pakistan aims to deliver a stronger performance against Bangladesh. They currently occupy the 5th position in the WTC 2023-25 points table, having secured 2 wins and suffered 3 defeats across 5 matches.
