Mohammad Rizwan, the newly appointed white-ball captain of Pakistan, has expressed his desire to make history by defeating Australia during the upcoming white-ball series, starting on 4 November.
Pakistan are set to embark on a white-ball tour to Australia, where they will play three ODIs and as many T20Is from November 4 until November 18. The tour is a tough challenge for the Green Shirts, considering their previous record in Australia.
Rizwan, who was appointed as the white-ball captain yesterday, will kick off his tenure with the series against Australia.
He acknowledged the team’s previous struggles in Australia, however, she shared that the team possesses the talent and determination to rewrite the history.
“Australia has always been a tough place, but in the last Test series, we lost only after coming very close. So, we learned from that experience that we can go to Australia and beat them,” said Rizwan.
“It’s not necessary that because we didn’t win in the past, we won’t win in the future. History will be made, Inshallah. Things will change, and we are going with the aim to compete and fight.”
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
The 32-year-old also expressed his pride in getting the opportunity to lead Pakistan, sharing that he is ready to take the challenge.
“Leading the Pakistan team is such an honour that words cannot describe it. But on the other hand, this is also a major responsibility because the hopes of our entire nation are attached to it,” he added.
“So, it’s both an honour and a challenge at the same time. I will try to fulfil this responsibility in a way that the people expect from me.”
Rizwan mentioned that he never desired to be a captain, but he has captained in domestic cricket and will aim to achieve the same success in international cricket.
“I never desired this [captaincy], but now that I’ve been given this responsibility, I’ll do my best to fulfil it. I’ve captained before [in domestic cricket], but captaining Pakistan at the international level is different,” he stated.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Tour
ODI SQUAD: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (vc) and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
T20I SQUAD: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan
READ: Pakistan players depart for Australia to partake in white-ball series