Moin Khan: “There is no doubt about Mohammad Rizwan’s abilities; any criticism against him might be due to his age. It’s also important to consider how long he can represent the team if given leadership. Mohammad Rizwan could be a great short-term captain”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan believes Mohammad Rizwan would be “a great short-term captain” in white-ball cricket.
His remarks come after Babar Azam stepped down from the leadership role in ODIs and T20Is.
With speculation rife about who will replace the 29-year-old, Moin feels Rizwan is among the frontrunners as the 32-year-old from Peshawar has shown how good of a leader he is, especially while captaining the Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
That said, Moin feels the only potential downside of appointing Rizwan is his age as many will question how long he will continue playing international cricket.
“There is no doubt about Mohammad Rizwan’s abilities; any criticism against him might be due to his age. It’s also important to consider how long he can represent the team if given leadership. Mohammad Rizwan could be a great short-term captain, but you would need to groom a young cricketer to take over in the future. We often appoint captains but fail to prepare a suitable deputy,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Rizwan recently featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh and accumulated 294 runs, which included a career-best knock of 171 not out, at an average of 98.
He then captained the Markhors in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over tournament held in Faisalabad.
In the five matches he played, he scored 149 runs, which included a top score of 51, at an average of 29.80.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-Test series against England, which 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.