NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s newly appointed limited-overs captain Mohammad Rizwan shared that he never actively sought the role. Following the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) latest leadership announcement, Rizwan has officially taken over from Babar Azam as Pakistan’s white-ball captain and will lead the team in the upcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against Australia.
“I never desired or asked for captaincy. If it’s granted by Allah, one shouldn’t refuse. I never sought captaincy (kabhi kaptaani nahin maangi),” Rizwan said.
“Regarding the past, everyone had their opinions on this. Even when Saifee was captain, I offered him suggestions, and he did the same for me. Now that I’ve become captain, all the players will be captains for the team. My focus will be that when I leave cricket, there will be more captain material ready for the team,” he added.
Pakistan are coming off a 2-1 Test series win at home against England and is set to face Australia in an ODI series starting on November 4, followed by three T20Is. The ODIs will take place in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, while the T20Is will be hosted in Brisbane, Sydney, and Hobart.
Reflecting on his new role, Rizwan said, “One of my wishes is to see the Pakistan team in the same kind of atmosphere that we had a couple of years ago. We were all with each other at any stage, whether things were working for us or not. Because of that, a lot of things worked in our favor back then.”
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“The same things are present now also. But the difference is that we have more young talent along with seniors, and we wish that we all as a team gel together. It’s a bit difficult when the seniors are playing and when the young lot comes and takes time to understand things. I guess during the Australia series, we will regain the same momentum that we had earlier,” he added.
