Former champions Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday, appointed South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw as their captain for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9, scheduled to commence on February 17.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the 2019 champions officially announced the change in their leadership.
“Introducing our new captain. [Rilee Rossouw] takes the reigns of [Quetta Gladiators],” the statement read.
🚨 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 🚨
Introducing our new captain 😎🙌@Rileerr takes the reins of #WeTheGladiators.#PurpleForce #HBLPSL9 pic.twitter.com/RMHATDnsSq
— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) February 14, 2024
Meanwhile, left-handed prolific batter Saud Shakeel has been named as the vice-captain.
Meet our vice-captain, @saudshak 😎#PurpleForce #ShaanePakistan #HBLPSL9 pic.twitter.com/loAzL1maH0
— Quetta Gladiators (@TeamQuetta) February 14, 2024
The official announcement came a day after wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed relinquished the role.
According to the details, Sarfaraz decided against leading the former champions for the straight ninth year after consultation with newly-appointed head coach Shane Watson.
Sarfaraz Ahmed has been a key part of the franchise since the inaugural edition of the PSL and has been leading the side since then.
The franchise played three finals under his leadership and also lifted their solitary title in 2019.
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However, the franchise saw a total change of fortune since winning the title as they failed to reach the playoffs in the last four editions.
In a bid to force a change, Quetta Gladiators made notable changes in their coaching staff and management as they brought in legendary all-rounder Shane Watson as the head coach and express pacer Shaun Tait as their bowling coach.
Franchise owner Nadeem Omer appeared in a local podcast in December where he revealed that he is “double-minded” on Sarfaraz Ahmed’s future as the captain.
However, earlier this week, Omer revealed that Sarfaraz Ahmed himself wanted to take a break from captaincy to focus more on his performance.
“Sarfaraz wants to take a break from captaincy with new head coach Shane Watson set to decide who will lead the side after consulting with the team management,” Omer said.
Quetta Gladiators squad for PSL 9:
Sherfane Rutherford, Mohammad Amir, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Jason Roy, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali Junior, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf, Will Smeed, Khawaja Nafay, Adil Naz, Akeal Hosain, and Sohail Khan.