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Mohammad Rizwan has emerged as a leading candidate for the Pakistan captaincy.© AFP
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has emerged as the leading candidate to captain the Pakistan team in the white-ball formats as the PCB announces the touring squad for the series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Pakistan selectors have held meetings with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi over the last two days and also consulted white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten.
“The third Test against England ends on October 28 and the team has to leave for Australia the next day, so the selectors would announce the white team by Sunday,” a reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.
“Rizwan is a frontrunner to become the white-ball captain given his seniority, reliability as a player and his experience of leading teams well in domestic cricket and PSL,” the source said.
Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan captain earlier this month, saying he wanted to concentrate on his batting.
Pakistan is scheduled to play nine ODIs and as many T20 internationals in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are also scheduled to play two Tests against South Africans before returning home.
The source said the board has now given voters the power to select the captain. Aaqib, Azhar Ali and Aleem Dar have apparently already held discussions with Rizwan and requested his willingness to take on this responsibility.
The source said the selectors are likely to include Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in the Whites team after they were rested and sidelined in the last two Tests against England.
Pakistan secured a 152-run win against England in Multan to level the three-match series.
“The selectors are also keen to have some new young players in the squad, so it is very likely that they will announce different squads for the three tours to give more players exposure and also give the seniors peace of mind,” confirmed the source.
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