On Sunday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named batting all-rounder Agha Salman the vice-captain and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan the captain of the white-ball cricket side.
The decision was made in response to former captain Babar Azam’s announcement on the X platform on October 2 that he was leaving his position as captain of Pakistan’s One-Day International and Twenty20 International teams in order to concentrate on his playing duties.
After Azam resigned from the role, the national selection committee was entrusted with selecting the next white-ball captain.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi named Rizwan and Salman the team’s captain and vice-captain for the one-day international and T20 international, respectively, during a press conference in Lahore.
The cricket board had earlier in the day revealed the team for the forthcoming games against Zimbabwe and Australia.
The captain Rizwan was left out of Pakistan’s T20I lineup against Zimbabwe, according to the team.
“Our selection committee has put in a lot of effort,” Naqvi stated. “They reviewed each case, and today they released the final list.”
The committee convened on Saturday evening to finalize the squads for the forthcoming tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, the chairman noted.
After that, Naqvi discussed Azam and referred to him as a Pakistani “asset.”
The chairman remarked, “Players like this only emerge after a long time.” “He approached me on resigning as captain, but no one from the PCB got in touch with him.
“He told me that he did want to continue as captain after taking advice from his coaches,” Naqvi remarked. “We all want him to get back to his best, and he wants to concentrate on his game.”
The chairman went on to say that the PCB began internal discussions with the five mentors and members of the selection committee after Azam resigned as captain.
“Almost everyone agreed that Salman should be the vice-captain and Rizwan should be the captain after Babar,” he stated. They had already begun negotiations with selectors, and yesterday I also had a meeting with Rizwan.
The board must “promote young talent and respect domestic cricket,” Naqvi added, adding, “I wish them the best and pray for their success.” He expressed gratitude for the selection committee’s efforts during the England test series, saying they “worked non-stop for two days at a time.”
“This selection committee is also responsible for these wins, so it’s important to recognize them,” Naqvi stated, adding that the team, coach, and captain would “make a good combination and play these upcoming series.”
According to Rizwan, there was a noticeable difference between the youth and senior players at the most recent Champions Cup. The nicest thing is that, as of right now, mentors, team management, and selectors are all working together to nurture our youthful talent.
“Bringing our young talent to the international level is our top priority,” the recently chosen captain declared.
“Unsatisfactory fitness”
In response to a query over the contract of batting star Fakhar Zaman, Naqvi stated that while a post on X was “definitely” a problem, he was not given a central contract because of his poor fitness.
After a social media post criticizing the decision to bench Babar for the test series against England, the PCB sent Fakhar a show-cause notice.
“Fakhar Zaman’s tweet was undoubtedly problematic, but more significantly, he failed his fitness test,” the chairman stated. “Fakhar gave an excellent speech at the connection camp, and we have taken his advice to heart in our international department as well.”
Players cannot question the selection committee’s choices, according to Naqvi. He further mentioned that after Fakhar receives the show-cause notice, he must pass his fitness exam.
