Pakistan are mulling over whom to hand over the white-ball captaincy after Babar Azam decided to step down from the role. An obvious candidate in Mohammad Rizwan has emerged but their white-ball coach Gary Kirsten and selectors have flagged a major concern regarding the workload management given the amount of cricket Pakistan are slated to play in the coming months.
After being removed as captain across formats last year, Babar was reinstated as T20I captain right before the T20 World Cup but an early exit put the star batter under more pressure given his predecessor Shaheen Afridi was sacked just after leading the team in one series.
“Mohammad Rizwan is the obvious choice for the white-ball captaincy given that, along with Babar, he is the only player who is an automatic selection in all formats of the game,” news agency PTI quoted an insider as claiming.
“But things are not so simple because, with the hectic international calendar of the team, the workload on Rizwan is a worrying factor for red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, Kirsten, the PCB and the selectors,” the source added.
Along with Babar and Rizwan, fast bowler Afridi is also an all-format player and hence the challenge with managing their workload.
Pakistan are scheduled to play 18 ODIs and T20I in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa between November and December, which will be followed by a two-Test series in South Africa.
Following their return home in January, the team will engage in a two-Test series with the West Indies, an ODI tri-series with New Zealand and South Africa leading up to the ICC Champions Trophy in February-March.
After the ICC event, the Pakistan side will fly to New Zealand for a white-ball series before the PCB organises the Pakistan Super League.
“Babar was captain in all three formats for more than three years but Kirsten and the selectors have their reservations over whether Rizwan would be able to handle the workload in the coming months of not only playing all the formats but also leading the side in ODIs and T20Is,” said another source.
The source says it’s a possibility that the PCB could either have separate ODI and T20I captains or appoint a strong vice-captain to Rizwan and make it clear that the wicketkeeper-batter will get ample breaks to manage his workload.
“In which case, Rizwan’s deputy will lead the team,” the source said. “Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood and Shaheen are the other candidates under consideration for either the role of Rizwan’s deputy or leading the T20I or ODI side.”
The source said that Kirsten had already informed the PCB that after Babar’s loss of confidence and form, he didn’t think any other player could handle the captaincy pressures in two formats.
With PTI Inputs
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