Rizwan likely to 'replace' Babar as captain

LAHORE: Amid captaincy crisis in Pakistan cricket team, wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has emerged as the hot contender for the post of captaincy, initially for the white ball cricket only.

Sources told Geo News that Babar’s not being given the opportunity to lead in the Champions One-Day Cup was an indication that he might not stay the national squad’s captain in the longer run.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Friday announced five teams for the national-level tournament — Champions Cup. Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Haris and Saud Shakeel will lead their respective teams in the cricketing event.

The sources said there was a fair chance of appointment of a new captain in place of the star batsman later this year. The appointment of new skipper for one-day international and T20 formats was likely ahead of the Australia tour, slated for November, the sources added.

White-ball Head Coach Gary Kirsten had talked to the cricket board officials and captain himself in July in this regard, they said.

The sources said Rizwan’s name was likely to be discussed for the lead role. If agreed upon, the wicket-keeper might be appointed as captain for all the three formats in the future, they maintained.

It should be noted that Babar was reappointed as white-ball captain on March 31, few months after he announced to quit captaincy of the three formats in November 2023. Shan Masood was made the Test captain.

However, this shuffling could not influence the team’s performance in either of the formats as they continued to suffer one after another defeats at crucial stages in the T20 World Cup 2024. The freshly white-washed Test series at the hands of Bangladesh has rubbed salt into the fans' wounds.