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Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as the vice-captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team for the T20I format by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Star Pakistan batter has replaced Shadab Khan as the vice-captain for the Men in Green. Rizwan's appointment is the latest in a string of changes to the Pakistan leadership group and board structure since Babar Azam stepped down as captain of all formats of the game following the 2023 ODI World Cup. Rizwan has previous leadership experience on both the international and domestic levels. After Babar was sidelined due to a fractured right thumb, he captained Pakistan in two Tests against New Zealand in late 2020 and early 2021. Rizwan has been the Multan Sultans' captain in the Pakistan Super League since 2021. Under his leadership, the Sultans won the title in 2021 and qualified for the finals in 2022 and 2023. In total, he has led 64 of the 238 T20s he has participated in. "It is an honour to be named as the vice-captain of Pakistan Men's T20I side. I am thankful to the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility. I am looking forward to working closely with the captain, coaching staff, and my teammates to contribute to the team's success," Rizwan was quoted as saying to Pakistan Cricket Board. Despite criticism in recent years for his strike rate of 127.30, Rizwan has an impressive T20I record of 2797 runs in 73 innings at an average of 49.07, with 25 half-centuries and one century. He has also claimed 41 catches and made 11 stumpings. After losing to Australia 3-0 in the three-match Test series, Pakistan will tour New Zealand for the five-match T20I series with the first match to be played at Auckland on Friday. The second T20I will be played at Hamilton, third T20I at Dunedin and in the end, they will travel to Christchurch for the last two T20Is of the series. (ANI)
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