PAK vs NZ: Shaheen Afridi overlooked as Mohammad Rizwan gets huge leadership role in Team Pakistan - Reports

Pakistan keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as the vice-captain of the team ahead of the second T20I against the New Zealand National Cricket Team. Reports in Pakistan Cricket confirmed the development on Saturday (20th April).

As per the reports, it is learned that the decision to appoint Mohammad Rizwan as vice-captain of the team was taken after consultation with the national selection committee, skipper Babar Azam, and the coaching staff of the team. He will be serving the role in the white-ball cricket.

Pakistan of late has seen a lot of changes in the captaincy. Babar Azam was recently reappointed as the captain of the team. The right-hander was removed as the skipper following the ouster in the ICC World Cup 2023. Shaheen Afridi was given the responsibility to captain the team then but he didn't get the longer rope.

Shaheen Afridi faced a 4-1 thrashing as a skipper of Pakistan in his first series. However, after that, he was removed as the leader. There were even reports that Mohammad Rizwan was seen as a potential candidate to captain the team. But PCB gave nod ahead to Babar Azam.

Mohammad Rizwan has been sensational as the skipper of the team in the Pakistan Super League. Under his leadership, Multan Sultans won the title in 2021 and qualified for the final in 2022 and 2023. Overall he has captained the team in 64 games.

Exclusive
فاختہ نے بتایا ہے کہ قومی سلیکشن کمیٹی، کپتان کوچز کی مشاورت سے محمد رضوان کو نائب کپتان فائنل کرلیا گیا ہے محمد رضوان بابر اعظم کے نائب کے طور پر کھیلیں. گے
Great decision
Best of luck @iMRizwanPak#PakistanCricket #MohammadRizwan pic.twitter.com/UtcN1o42c0

— Qadir Khawaja (@iamqadirkhawaja) April 20, 2024

Mohammad Rizwan will be extremely crucial for Pakistan in the upcoming few months. He will be holding the key for his team in the ongoing series against New Zealand followed by England games and the T20 World Cup 2024, which will be played in the USA and Caribbean.

Mohammad Rizwan overall has scored 2,981 runs in 91 T20Is for the Pakistan. He also has a decent strike rate of 127.55. The keeper-batter is expected to bat in the top order for his team. His form will be crucial for the Pakistan Cricket Team going ahead.

Shaheen was reluctant to talk to Babar and Rizwan - Mohammad Hafeez

In the last series of Pakistan against New Zealand, the successful opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan didn't open the innings for the team as Saim Ayub was promoted up the order.

Mohammad Hafeez, who was head coach of the team at that time, said that he decided for the betterment of the team. He claimed that Shaheen Afridi was reluctant to talk to the duo so he had to take the harsh call. Talking about the same further, he explained:

"Even I spoke to the captain [Shaheen] but he was reluctant to talk to Babar and Rizwan and so I took that responsibility. I went to talk to them and I had no problem with it because what I did was for Pakistan.

"And if someone feels that addressing all these issues and Pakistan performing well can be achieved by having Babar and Rizwan as openers, or if they can assign some other role to Saim Ayub or whoever the other cricketers are, then I have no issue. We want the best results for the Pakistan cricket team and all players should be given equal opportunities."

The first T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand was washed out due to the rain. The second T20I between teams will be played on Saturday (20th April) at the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium.