Daily Times

As Pakistan gear up for their first ODI against Australia, Green Shirts’ captain Mohammad Rizwan on Sunday provided key insights to his approach as the team’s leader on his first assignment as skipper.

Underscoring an inclusive approach towards leadership while speaking during a pre-series media talk at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Rizwan said: “For me, everyone is a captain, if they feel they have something good, they can share it [with me]”.

Rizwan’s remarks come ahead of him leading the side as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed him as the team’s white-ball captain after Babar Azam stepped down from the post last month.

The team will be coached by Jason Gillespie, who assumed the responsibilities as its white-ball coach for the Australia tour after Gary Kirsten’s resignation due to differences with the board.

Despite facing a coaching setback, the national side will be looking to capitalise Gillespie’s presence and the former Australian cricketer’s familiarity with his home conditions.

Responding to a query regarding Babar and Shaheen’s inclusion in the playing XI — after the duo were rested in the two Tests against the recently concluded England series — Rizwan praised the two stars along with pacer Naseem Shah saying the trio have given great performances for Pakistan.

“Today Babar, Shaheen are known [to the world] only because of their performances,” he remarked while saying that players do face bad times and they were going through the same thing.

“Babar and Shaheen understand this thing, [and] I will support them as much as I can,” added Rizwan.

Noting that matters related to the former skippers were a “thing of past for him”. Rizwan said that he would do his utmost to make things better for them.

When asked about the absence of Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq, the skipper highlighted the duo’s services for the team and acknowledged Fakhar’s contribution in scoring runs at a fast rate from the top order.

“Fakhar is a game changer, his runs have made a big difference,” he said.

However, the captain contended that their absence has given a chance to young players to test and prove their mettle on the pitch.

Providing insight into the team selection, Rizwan said that the playing XI would be decided with his input, highlighting that it was good to have an inclusive approach with others’ input as well.

“I am going to go [forward] via a consultative approach [on matters] and also seek advice from young players as well,” he noted.

Conceding that the fans were disappointed due to the team’s dismal performance in white-ball cricket in recent times, the captain assured that the national side will not let them down on the Australia tour.

Teams’ lineup

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk) Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha (vc) Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.

Australia: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi.