Rashid Latif: “Rizwan may be a temporary solution, but I believe Shadab Khan is being groomed for the captaincy”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif believes Mohammad Rizwan will be limited overs captain on a temporary basis as he thinks Shadab Khan “is being groomed for the captaincy”.
Rizwan replaced Babar Azam as white-ball skipper in October 2024 and made his captaincy debut against Australia, where the men in green won the ODI leg 2-1 to secure their first ODI series win in the country since 2002.
Pakistan failed to maintain their momentum in the T20I series as Australia whitewashed them 3-0.
After this, the men in green travelled to Zimbabwe and beat them 2-1 in both the ODI and T20I series.
However, it should be noted that Salman Ali Agha took over as captain for the T20Is as Rizwan was rested.
Shadab used to be Pakistan’s limited overs vice-captain, but is now being overlooked for selection since he failed to take wickets consistently when he was last in the national team.
Despite this, Latif is confident the 26-year-old will be back and eventually captain Pakistan.
“Rizwan may be a temporary solution, but I believe Shadab Khan is being groomed for the captaincy,” he was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are now taking on South Africa and began their tour with a 2-0 loss in the three-match T20I series.
They have managed to rebound in the ongoing ODI series as they hold a 2-0 lead heading into the 3rd ODI, which will be held on December 22 in Johannesburg.
After the ODI series, Pakistan and South Africa will play two Tests, with the first match starting on December 26 in Centurion.
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
[TS_Poll id=”89″]
Rashid is just saying this because Shahdab is his friend‘S son in law. Rashid is the only pak captain who was removed and banned because of cheating. He is a spokesman for safarshi players like Azam khan , Shahdab khan, Imam ul Haq etc.