PCB addresses speculation on Rizwan, Shan Masood’s Captaincy Future

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) responded to rumours about the removal of Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood from their roles as white-ball and red-ball captains on Monday.

Speculation had been rife that Shan Masood could be replaced by Saud Shakeel as Test captain, while reports also suggested Mohammad Rizwan’s position as ODI captain was under threat.

However, PCB sources have categorically denied these claims, terming them “baseless.”

They confirmed that there is no proposal under consideration to remove Shan from the Test captaincy, nor is there any plan to appoint Saud as his replacement.

Similarly, the board dismissed talk of Mohammad Rizwan being stripped of the ODI captaincy, clarifying that Salman Ali Agha is not being considered for the role.

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The sources further added that the selection committee has not discussed any such matter, nor has there been any change in the category of players’ central contracts.

Pakistan are currently preparing for the Tri-Nation Series, featuring Afghanistan and the UAE, scheduled to be played in Sharjah from August 29 to September 7.

Each side will face the other twice, with the top two progressing to the final. Pakistan will open their campaign against Afghanistan on August 29 at 7:00 PM local time.

Following the tri-series, Pakistan will shift its focus to the ACC Asia Cup 2025, starting September 9 with the tournament opener between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

Notably, neither Rizwan nor Shan will feature in the upcoming fixtures. Mohammad Rizwan remains out of Pakistan’s T20I squad, while Shan has not been part of the white-ball setup since 2023.

Tri-series schedule (all matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium):

• 29 August – Afghanistan v Pakistan – 7pm local time
• 30 August – UAE v Pakistan – 7pm local time
• 1 September – UAE v Afghanistan – 7pm local time
• 2 September – Pakistan v Afghanistan – 7pm local time
• 4 September – Pakistan v UAE – 7pm local time
• 5 September – Afghanistan v UAE – 7pm local time
• 7 September – Final – 7pm local time

ACC Asia Cup T20 2025 (Pakistan fixtures, Super Fours and Final):

• 12 September – Oman v Pakistan, DICS, 6pm local time
• 14 September – India v Pakistan, DICS, 6pm local time
• 17 September – UAE v Pakistan, DICS, 6pm local time
• 20-26 September – Super Fours fixtures (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)
• 28 September – Final, DICS, 6pm local time

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