Tag: Mohammad Rizwan

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday announced the appointment of wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan as the white-ball captain of the national cricket team.

Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha has been appointed as the vice-captain of Pakistan’s white-ball team.

Naqvi made the announcement during a press conference in Lahore, accompanied by newly appointed captain and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha respectively. They were joined by the members of the selection committee Aqib Javed and Azhar Ali.

It’s worth noting that Rizwan replaced fellow batter Babar Azam, who stepped down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain earlier this month.

Babar’s resignation came in the wake of the national team’s disastrous campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 where they suffered their first-ever group-stage exit, mainly pertaining to their shock loss against the United States of America (USA) and gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India.

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Mohammad Rizwan will kick off his stint as Pakistan captain from the upcoming tour of Australia, where Pakistan will play a three-match ODI series followed by three T20Is, scheduled to run from November 4 until November 18.

Earlier today, the PCB announced squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia and Zimbabwe.

The 32-year-old wicket-keeper will lead the team during the Australia matches and Zimbabwe ODIs but will be rested from the Zimbabwe T20Is. In his absence, Salman Ali Agha will lead Pakistan in the T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Pakistan Squad for Australia Tour

ODI SQUAD: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), 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, Salman Ali Agha (vc) and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

T20I SQUAD: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan

Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe Tour

ODI SQUAD: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir

T20I SQUAD: Salman Ali Agha (c), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan

READ: Babar Azam, Rizwan retained in category A as PCB announces central contracts

LAHORE: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were retained in Category A as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced central contracts for the 2024-25 international season on Sunday.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has awarded 12-month central contracts to 25 men’s cricketers for the 2024-25 international season, effective from 1 July 2024,” the PCB’s press release stated.

“The contracts have been offered under the structure that was agreed last year between the players and the PCB for a three-year period.

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“As part of the PCB’s strategy to incentivise, encourage and reward talented and emerging cricketers, five players have been offered central contracts for the first time.

“They are Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan. These players have been placed in Category D.”

Men’s Central Contract List for the 2024-25 season

List of centrally contracted players:

Category A (2): Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan

Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood

Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan

Category D (11): Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Khan

READ: Rohit Sharma says no pressure despite New Zealand Test defeat

Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan achieved a significant milestone during the ongoing third Test against England in Rawalpindi on Friday.

Rizwan, while playing his 57th innings in Test cricket, completed his 2000 runs in the format, becoming the fifth Pakistan wicketkeeper to achieve this feat.

The right-hander has now joined Sarfaraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Moin Khan and Imtiaz Ahmed in the coveted list. Notably, Sarfaraz Ahmed holds the record for most runs by a Pakistani wicket-keeper.

Most Runs by Pakistani Wicket-keeper in Test Cricket

• Sarfaraz Ahmed – 3031 runs
• Kamran Akmal – 2648 runs
• Moin Khan – 2581 runs
• Imtiaz Ahmed – 2010 runs
• Mohammad Rizwan – 2009 runs

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However, Rizwan could not add much to Pakistan’s total on Day 2 as he was dismissed by Rehan Ahmed after scoring 25 runs from 46 balls with the help of one six and one four.

As of this writing, Pakistan have scored 251-7 in their first innings and are trailing by a meagre 16 runs.

Saud Shakeel is playing at 104 while Noman Ali has scored 38 so far. Together these two have constructed an unbeaten 74-run partnership so far, which is Pakistan’s best in this innings.

Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

READ: Pat Cummins offers blunt take on David Warner’s Test return

Former wicketkeeper batter Rashid Latif claimed that the decision regarding appointing Pakistan’s white-ball captain will be made after a meeting between Mohammad Rizwan and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

Pakistan are set to embark on a white-ball tour to Australia for a three-match each ODI and T20I series, scheduled to run from November 4 until November 18.

The tour itself is a tough challenge for the Green Shirts, considering their previous record in Australia but the touring side faces another stiff challenge, a leadership void, which was created by Babar Azam after he officially stepped down as the team’s white-ball captain earlier this month.

Babar’s resignation came in the wake of the national team’s disastrous campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 where they suffered their first-ever group-stage exit, mainly pertaining to their shock loss against the United States of America (USA) and gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India.

Right when Babar’s second reign as Pakistan captain ended, the cricketing body began searching for a new leader and wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan emerged as the front-runner.

Several reports within the national media indicated Rizwan as the next white-ball captain of the national team but the PCB is yet to make an official announcement.

Meanwhile, Rashid Latif came up with an assertion that the announcement regarding the appointment of the new white-ball captain is facing a delay due to a meeting scheduled between PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi and potential candidate Mohammad Rizwan.

“The decision regarding the captaincy for ODIs and T20s will be made after a meeting between the PCB chairman and Mohammad Rizwan. The meeting was expected to take place, but the PCB chief was not in the country,” Latif posted on his social media handles.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan’s squad for the white-ball tour to Australia will be announced in the coming days and the national team is scheduled to depart on October 29.

READ: Zimbabwe smash highest total in Men’s T20Is

DUBAI: Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha enjoyed significant gains, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan experienced a further drop in their positions in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Babar Azam dropped four places to 19th with 677 points after missing the second Test against England. He was dropped from the squad after the first Test owing to his extended poor run of form.

He managed a meagre 64 runs in four innings during the home Test series against Bangladesh last month, while in the first Test against England, he scored only 35 runs

On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan lost two spots to 21 with 669 rating points following his below-par performance in the two Tests against England where he managed only 74 runs.

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Salman Ali Agha, who has been enjoying a purple patch lately, earned the rewards for his impressive batting performance as he jumped eight places to claim the 14th spot in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

He has scored 261 runs in the ongoing series so far with an unbeaten century and two half-centuries with an average of 87.

Pakistan’s Test vice-captain Saud Shakeel also suffered a steep decline, falling seven places to 27th position with 642 points after scoring a meagre 146 runs in two Tests against England.

Notably, spin bowlers Sajid Khan and Noman Ali made a remarkable return to the Pakistan team in the second Test against England. They shared 20 wickets to steer the team to their first victory on home soil in the last three years.

Consequently, Sajid Khan jumped a whopping 22 places to the 50th spot, while Noman Ali was re-instated at the 17th position in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings.

READ: Michael Atherton skeptical about Rawalpindi pitch mirroring Multan conditions

Pakistan pacer Ihsanullah has recently surprised everyone with the revelation that his favourite cricketer is wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Ihsanullah, who has featured for Pakistan in one ODI and four T20Is, suffered an elbow injury and has been away from international cricket since playing for Pakistan in the ODI series against New Zealand at home last year in April.

During a recent appearance at a local podcast, Ihsanullah was initially asked about his favourite player from the Indian cricket team. He responded that he does not have any favourite player in the Indian team.

The host was surprised by this response and asked Ihsanullah if he admired any of the current or former Indian players, mentioning legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, and Yuvraj Singh.

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However, the fast bowler remained firm in his stance and reiterated his previous response, while revealing that his favourite player is Mohammad Rizwan.

“No, I don’t have a favourite Indian player. My favourite player is Mohammad Rizwan, whether current or from the past. He is my favourite player in the world,” said Ihsanullah.

It’s worth noting that Ihsanullah played under Rizwan during his time with Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) before his injury.

He made his debut for the franchise in the 2022 edition of the tournament and has taken 23 wickets in 14 appearances so far.

READ: Virender Sehwag urges Babar Azam to ‘play domestic cricket’ to regain form

DUBAI: Pakistan batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan experienced a major drop in their positions in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Pakistan cricket team is going through a tough phase, having lost their first-ever Test series against Bangladesh, followed by a crushing defeat in the first Test against England.

Consequently, most of the Pakistani players have witnessed a decline in their positions in ICC Test rankings. Currently, there are no players from Pakistan in the top ten Test rankings.

Babar Azam crashed out of the top ten list in the ICC Test Batting Rankings last month after a forgettable two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, where he managed a meagre 64 runs in four innings.

Meanwhile, in the first Test against England, he scored 35 runs in two innings after which he was dropped from the squad for the remainder of the series.

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Following his dismal performance, Babar has dropped three places to 15th with 684 rating points. However, he is the highest-ranked Pakistani player due to the steep fall of Mohammad Rizwan.

The wicket-keeper batter slipped 12 places to reach the 19th spot with 678 points after he bagged a duck in the first innings while managing only 10 runs in the second innings during the first Test against England.

Salman Ali Agha, on the other hand, made a big leap of 11 spots to claim 22nd position, while captain Shan Masood jumped 12 places to 51st.

Shan scored a brilliant 151 in the first innings of the Multan Test, however, the second innings saw him score only 11 runs. Salman Ali Agha enjoyed a stellar run in the first Test against England with scores of 104* and 63.

Shaheen Afridi, who returned with figures of 1-120 in the first Test, dropped out of the top-ten list and is now placed in 14th place in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings. His teammates Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed also slipped to 34th and 51st respectively.

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Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan picked wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman as the potential candidates to take up Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy after Babar Azam’s resignation.

Younis addressed the media during his visit to the iconic Adelaide Oval and stated that relinquishing the captaincy may benefit Babar to improve his performance as a batter.

“Stepping away from the captaincy will be beneficial for Babar Azam,” said Younis.

“In our culture, we often make the biggest player the captain, which I believe is a mistake. Either Mohammad Rizwan or Fakhar Zaman should be considered for the role,” he added.

The 2009 T20 World Cup-winning captain also commented on the current state of the national men’s cricket team and expressed hope for them to do well in Australia.

“I hope the Pakistan men’s cricket team performs well in Australia. The current squad includes young players, and there are certainly some issues with team selection that need to be addressed,” Younis said.

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Younis Khan then went on to laud Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie, stating that the former Australian pacer is working hard for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.

“I have played cricket with Jason Gillespie; he is working hard to improve the Pakistan team. However, there needs to be better decision-making when it comes to selection,” he said.

For the unversed, Younis Khan is on a visit to Australia to participate in the upcoming Australian Summer Cricket Festival, scheduled for October 5 in Melbourne.

The former Pakistan captain will be accompanied by Glenn Maxwell and Jake Fraser-McGurk in the event, which is focused to celebrate the sport and converge the cricketing talent from all over the globe.

READ: PCB unveils commentary panel for Pakistan-England Tests

DUBAI: Pakistan batter Babar Azam experienced a one-place drop, while wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan gained one spot in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Babar had a forgettable home series against Bangladesh last month, where he managed 64 runs in four innings and crashed out of the top ten batters in the ICC Test rankings.

The right-handed batter was placed at the 11th spot, however, he slipped one more place to the 12th position with 712 rating points.

Meanwhile, Rizwan rose up one place to the seventh spot with 720 rating points, solidifying his position as the highest-ranked Pakistani batter in the ICC rankings.

It’s worth noting that Indian players enjoyed significant gains in the ICC rankings following their remarkable clean sweep over Bangladesh in the home Test series.

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Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli made the biggest jump as he rose six places to sixth place with 724 rating points after his contributions of 47 and 29* in the famous Kanpur Test victory.

Meanwhile, young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal jumped two places to claim his career-best third position in the ICC Test batting rankings. He scored quick half-centuries in both innings and earned the Player of the Match award in the Kanpur Test.

On the bowling front, Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah edged teammate Ravichandran Ashwin to claim the top spot in the ICC rankings.

Bumrah holds a narrow one-point lead over Ashwin after taking 11 wickets in the series victory against Bangladesh.

Notably, second-ranked Ashwin was adjudged Player of the Series with as many wickets and a century in the first Test.

READ: Hasan Ali reacts to Babar Azam’s resignation as Pakistan captain

Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is the ‘strong candidate’ to become white-ball captain of Pakistan after the resignation of Babar Azam, ARY News reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

According to the sources, relevant PCB officials have been asked to hold consultations with Mohammad Rizwan for team selection.

Babar announced his decision on Tuesday night through social media, citing heavy workload and his intention to focus more on batting.

“Dear Fans, I’m sharing some news with you today. I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month,” stated Babar Azam in a statement on his social media platforms.

“It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role,” he added.

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However, the sources revealed that there are more factors involved in Babar’s decision rather than his personal desire to focus on his individual performance.

According to sources, Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten wanted Babar Azam to continue as the captain of the ODI team. However, he was keen on replacing Babar as captain in T20I format.

The sources further revealed that Gary submitted his report after Pakistan’s disastrous ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in July and discussed his plans for a potential captaincy change with Babar as well.

However, Babar decided to quit as captain from both formats and informed a top official in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before announcing his resignation.

READ: PCB accepts Babar Azam’s resignation as white-ball captain