LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has named Mohammad Rizwan as the vice-captain of Pakistan Men’s T20I team.
Rizwan’s first assignment as deputy to Shaheen Shah Afridi will be the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, scheduled to take place in New Zealand from January 12.
The 31-year-old Mohammad Rizwan has featured in 85 T20Is, amassing 2,797 runs, including one century and 25 half-centuries. Behind the stumps, Rizwan has taken 41 catches and 11 stumpings.
Mohammad Rizwan said of his appointment: “It is an honour to be named as the vice-captain of Pakistan Men’s T20I side. I am thankful to the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility. I am looking forward to working closely with the captain, coaching staff, and my team-mates to contribute to the team’s success.”
Media reports recently said that former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was in favour of Mohammad Rizwan becoming the national team’s T20I team instead of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Speaking at an event in Australia, Shahid Afridi showered praises on the wicketkeeper-batter and preferred him over his son-in-law Shaheen for the T20 captaincy.
“I admire Rizwan’s hard work and focus level. His best quality, which I like most, is only focusing on his game and paying no heed to who is doing what and what not. He is really a fighter!” Shahid Afridi said.
“I want to see him [Rizwan] as the T20 captain but mistakenly, Shaheen became the skipper,” Afridi said on a lighter note while looking towards the left-arm quick, who was sitting behind him at the event.
Full squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
Full schedule:
1st T20 – 12 January 2024 at Eden Park, Auckland
2nd T20 – 14 January 2024 at Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd T20 – 17 January 2024 at University Oval, Dunedin
4th T20 – 19 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
5th T20 – 21 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
