Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan talk during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Chennai, India. (AP)
As Pakistan eye for a successor to Babar Azam, who recently stepped down as the ODI and T20I captain, former Pakistan cricketer Mudassar Nazar believes keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is the frontrunner for the job. This, despite the top management not entirely convinced with the 32-year-old.
Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Nazar said, “Right now, they don’t have any choice left. They’ve tried everyone except Rizwan. They’ll have to make Rizwan the captain. I don’t think the inner circle and top management are very happy with Rizwan, but they’ll be forced to choose him.
Earlier this week, Babar Azam stated in a social media post that he was stepping down from the captaincy to ‘enjoy my batting’ and ‘focus more energy on my game and personal growth’.
Babar has been under scrutiny owing to his recent form across formats. This has coincided with Pakistan’s poor outings at the recent ICC tournaments – 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup – under his captaincy.
Pakistan’s woes have extended to the longest format, having been recently whitewashed 2-0 by Bangladesh at home under Shan Masood.
It’s why Nazar believes Rizwan is likely to be an all-format captain for Pakistan.
“Otherwise, if they go for a younger player, it will turn into the same situation like with Babar Azam. It’s better to make a senior player the captain and then groom someone under him. In my opinion, it would be better for Pakistan to make Rizwan the captain for all three formats,” he says.
Pakistan are set to face England next in a three-match Test series at home, starting October 7 in Multan.
