Basit Ali: “Pakistan will win the Test series against England if Mohammad Rizwan is made the captain. You will see a different Babar Azam in the England series, but the condition is that the captain should be Rizwan”
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Former cricketer Basit Ali believes Pakistan will beat England in their upcoming three-Test series if wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is named captain.
It was announced that Shan Masood would keep hold of the Test captaincy for the first Test in Multan, but it remains to be seen if any changes are made depending on the result of that match.
The men in green will be desperately looking for a win against England as they were just whitewashed 2-0 in their Test series against Bangladesh.
Basit added that if Rizwan were given the leadership role, it would have a positive impact on batsman Babar Azam, who has been struggling to score runs regularly lately.
“Pakistan will win the Test series against England if Mohammad Rizwan is made the captain. You will see a different Babar Azam in the England series, but the condition is that the captain should be Rizwan,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Sports Tak.
In the Test series against Bangladesh, Rizwan made 294 runs, which included a career-best knock of 171 not out, at an average of 98.
As for Azam, he was restricted to 64 runs at an average of 16.
Both players are now involved in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over tournament going on in Faisalabad.
Rizwan, who is captaining the Markhors, has amassed 149 runs in five matches, which includes a top score of 51, at an average of 29.80.
Azam, meanwhile, has accumulated 230 runs in four games for the Stallions, which includes a century and a fifty, at an average of 76.66.
The Test series between Pakistan and England will be held from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 1st Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi.