Pakistan white-ball captaincy hinges on Rizwan-PCB chief meeting

Former captain Rashid Latif has asserted that Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy will be decided after wicketkeeping batter Mohammad Rizwan’s meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Mohsin Naqvi.

In a post on X, the former wicketkeeping batter said that the captain for T20I and ODI teams will be decided after their meeting.

“The meeting was expected to take place, however, [PCB] chairman was not present in the country,” he wrote in the post.

It is to be noted that the position remains vacant since star batter Babar Azam stepped down from the role on October 2.

While Shan Masood was made Test team captain when Babar first stepped down from captaincy across all formats in 2023, fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was announced captain of the T20I team, who led the team in just one series.

Babar Azam was later reinstated as Pakistan’s white-ball captain just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, however, he resigned from the position after the team’s dismal run at the marquee event.

Rashid Latif’s latest statement about the upcoming meeting between Mohammad Rizwan and the PCB chief comes weeks after reports emerged that the wicketkeeping batter was the ‘strong candidate’ to lead the national cricket team in white-ball cricket.

Sources at the time said that relevant Pakistan Cricket Board officials had been asked to hold consultations with Mohammad Rizwan for team selection.

Meanwhile, reports said that the PCB is likely to announce the squads for the upcoming white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe within the next few days.

The national team is scheduled to depart for Australia on October 29, where they will face the hosts in a three-match ODI series, followed by a three-match T20I series.