Ahmed Shehzad: “Mohammad Rizwan was the one who led Pakistan cricket down this path, along with his teammates. He was the main decision maker even when Babar was captain and handled all the captaincy matters”
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Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has claimed that Mohammad Rizwan was the “main decision maker” in the team even when Babar Azam was captain.
He noted that it is because of Rizwan that the men in green find themselves in the position they are currently in.
Shehzad pointed out that despite Azam being tasked with handling all matters related to the captaincy, it was actually Rizwan who controlled everything.
Rizwan ended up replaced Azam as Pakistan’s limited overs captain in October 2024.
“Mohammad Rizwan was the one who led Pakistan cricket down this path, along with his teammates. He was the main decision maker even when Babar was captain and handled all the captaincy matters,” Shehzad was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rizwan made his captaincy debut in the white-ball series against Australia and scored 74 runs in three ODIs at an average of 74.
The men in green won the ODI leg 2-1 to claim their first ODI series win in Australia since 2002.
However, they failed to maintain their momentum in the three-match T20I series that followed as they were whitewashed 3-0.
Rizwan failed to have an impact with the bat as he was restricted to 16 runs in two games at an average of eight.
Pakistan then took on Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series, where Rizwan struck 56 run at an average of 56.
Following this, he was rested for the three T20Is, which the men in green won 2-1.
Next up for Pakistan will be a tour of South Africa, where they will play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.
The T20I series will start on December 10, while the ODI and Test series will get underway on December 17 and December 26 respectively.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
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