PAK vs NZ: Shadab Khan Reacts To Mohammad Rizwan Replacing Him As Pakistan T20 Vice-Captain
Pakistan men’s national team selection committee led by Wahab Riaz announced a 16-member squad for the T20I series against New Zealand. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been named as the captain while Mohammad Rizwan will act as his deputy.
Meanwhile, Shadab Khan who was the vice-captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in T20Is before this series was dropped from this series after his poor run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Shadab Khan has congratulated Rizwan on becoming the vice-captain of the team.
Mohammad Rizwan has been one of the most prolific batters for Pakistan in T20Is with an average nearing 50 in the shortest format. He has amassed 2797 runs in just 73 innings for Pakistan which includes 25 half-centuries and a century. However, his strike rate of 127.31 has been a concern but just on that basis he could not be dropped from the squad.
Shadab Khan on the other hand has also taken a break from the T20 format as he aims to make a comeback in the red-ball format. Earlier, he withdrew his name from the Big Bash League to focus on four-day domestic cricket in Pakistan as he is determined to make a return to Pakistan’s Test side. Shadab Khan had a terrible ODI World Cup campaign for Pakistan last year. He was Babar Azam’s deputy in that tournament but could not manage a single match-winning performance.
Shadab Khan took to ‘X’ to congratulate Mohammad Rizwan for becoming the new vice-captain of the Pakistan T20I team and he urged the fans to get behind Rizwan and Shaheen as they face their first challenge against New Zealand after becoming the captain and vice-captan. He wishes them all the best and shows faith in Rizwan’s ability as a leader.
Shadab Khan Congratulates Mohammad Rizwan For Becoming The New Vice-Captain
Congratulations @iMRizwanPak on being named the vice-captain of the T20I team. I know you will be a brilliant deputy to @iShaheenAfridi. Wishing you all the best. I urge all the fans to get behind them and support the team vs NZ. #PakistanZindabad pic.twitter.com/0S0AG4GTDB
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) January 8, 2024
Mohammad Rizwan has been elected as the vice-captain but he won’t be keeping the wickets for Pakistan in the series as Wahab Riaz has announced that Azam Khan will be the wicket-keeper for Pakistan against Blackcaps and Rizwan will be playing as a specialist batter. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam will also resort back to their ODI positions at N0.3 and No.4 in T20Is while Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman will be opening the batting for Pakistan in the series.
Pakistan will play five T20Is against New Zealand where Shaheen Shah Afridi will be leading the Pakistan side and Kane Williamson will be back as the New Zealand skipper. Kane Williamson has been rested for the recently concluded T20I series and ODI series against Bangladesh. He will return to the team for the home series against Pakistan and is also likely to lead the team against South Africa in the Test series next month.
