Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has backed Mohammad Rizwan to be the next captain of the national side. Basit feels that the wicketkeeper-batter is a better reader of the pitch than Babar Azam. He did not even consider Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood as a contender.
The praise from veteran of 19 Tests and 50 ODIs came after Rizwan’s Markhors defended a total of 231 against Mohammad Haris-led Stallions in the ongoing Pakistan’s One-Day Champions Cup 2024.
"The way Rizwan led the side, he proved there is no better skipper than him. He has shown it with his captaincy. He read the pitch; it is a big thing. Even Babar can't do that. I am not even talking about Shan. If you don't make him captain at this time, then it is a loss for Pakistan. This is the best time you should make Rizwan the captain," the 53-year-old said on his YouTube channel.
Rizwan’s spot-on field placement for Babar
Babar was batting well in the run chase of 232. He was on 45 when Rizwan introduced leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood into the attack. The move paid dividends instantly. Babar played a pull shot and was caught by Naseem Shah at square leg. The field placement was good as Naseem was a little squarer and did not have to move much to take the catch.
Markhors suffer batting collapse
Babar's wicket led to a batting collapse. No other Stallions batter could score in double digits. Zahid bagged his List A (One-Day) career's maiden five-wicket haul whereas Agha Salman picked three wickets. Stallions lost eight wickets for just 23 runs and were bowled out for 105 in 23.4 overs. Rizwan's Markhors won the game by a massive margin of 126 runs and climbed to the top of the points table.
Earlier, Rizwan scored 33 runs from 39 balls before losing his wicket to Mehran Mumtaz. In the previous game, he scored 45 runs against Panthers.
Pakistan in dire straits
Pakistan team hit a new low when they lost the two-Test series against Bangladesh at home. Their next Test series is against England at home. Meanwhile, it is not clear whether Babar will retain captaincy in white-ball cricket after the early exit from T20 World Cup 2024.
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