Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has thrown his weight behind wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan as the next captain of the national white-ball team.
The current white-ball captain Babar Azam has been under fire following Pakistan’s lacklustre ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in June, where they got knocked out from the group stage.
Many fans and critics have attributed the Green Shirts’ disastrous performance to Babar’s captaincy and called for his removal as captain.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to hold a high-profile meeting on September 22, dubbed “Connection Camp”, to discuss the future of the national cricket team as well as all-format captaincy.
Basit Ali, in a video on his YouTube channel, gave his opinion on the ongoing speculations about Mohammad Rizwan replacing Babar Azam as the captain.
He highlighted Rizwan’s leadership skills, which are on full display during the ongoing Champions One-Day Cup, where the wicketkeeper is leading Markhors.
“The way [Mohammad] Rizwan led the side, he proved there is no better skipper than him. He has shown it with his captaincy,” said Basit Ali.
“He read the pitch; it is a big thing. Even Babar can’t do that. I am not even talking about Shan. If you don’t make him captain at this time, then it is a loss for Pakistan. This is the best time you should make Rizwan the captain.”
Prior to Basit, former captain Moin Khan also acknowledged Mohammad Rizwan’s leadership skills but claimed the 32-year-old to be a short-term option.
He instead called for grooming a youngster for the national team’s leadership.
“A single captain can be appointed for all formats of cricket, but it’s crucial for any player to perform across all formats to achieve this,” said Moin.
“Whoever becomes captain should have the responsibility for the long term. There is no doubt about Mohammad Rizwan’s abilities; any criticism against him might be due to his age.
“It’s also important to consider how long he can represent the team if given leadership. Mohammad Rizwan could be a great short-term captain, but you would need to groom a young cricketer to take over in the future. We often appoint captains but fail to prepare a suitable deputy.”
It’s worth noting that Rizwan-led Markhors have won both of their matches in the Champions One-Day Cup and are sitting at the top of the points table.
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