Mohammad Rizwan to not have final selection call, was reluctant to accept white-ball captaincy: Report
As per a report, Mohammad Rizwan was reluctant in taking up Pakistan's white-ball captaincy.
Pakistan might have won the Test series against England, but the changes keep on coming! Stability and Pakistan cricket have never gone hand-in-hand and recent events just confirm the same notion. Recently, Mohammad Rizwan replaced Babar Azam as the white-ball captain after the latter stepped down from captaincy to focus on his own performances. A day after Rizwan's appointment as the captain, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Gary Kirsten has left the role of the white-ball coach, and it will be Test coach Jason Gillespie who would be travelling to Australia for the upcoming white-ball series.
Now, a report in news agency PTI claims that after initial reluctation, Rizwan has agreed to the board's new selection policy, and hence he will not be having any voting right in the short-listing of touring squads or the playing XI.
"After discussions with the (Pakistan Cricket) Board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, and senior selector, Aaqib Javed, Riwan agreed to the new system where his input in the selection process would be strictly advisory," PTI quoted a source as saying.
As per several reports, the former World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten resigned as he did not agree to be a part of the selection process in an advisory capacity. Rizwan would be consulted in finalising teans, however, he will not have the final decision as the last call would rest with the five selectors.
"Under the new policy, the selection committee is now responsible for selecting touring squads and the playing eleven," the source said, as per PTI.
The new selection policy was introduced by the PCB after Pakistan suffered a defeat against England in the first Test in Multan earlier this month. After this loss, the new selectors Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali and Aleem Dar were added to the committee and they were given the power to select the teams without the consent of the captain or head coach.
What Rizwan said after becoming Pakistan captain
After becoming Pakistan's captain, Rizwan said that he wants his team to regain its mojo, and become a dominant force in world cricket.
“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 all were with each other at any stage whether things were working for us or not. Because of that, a lot of things worked in our favour back then. 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," Rizwan told PCB’s official social media handles.
"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 which we had earlier,” he added.
Pakistan have had a power show in the white-ball formats. The side first failed to make it to the semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and then the Green Shirts also faced a loss against the USA in the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan will next face Australia in three ODIs and as many T20Is.
