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Mohammad Rizwan, newly appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain following Babar Azam’s resignation last month, has had a mixed start to his leadership tenure. Rizwan led Pakistan to their first ODI series win in Australia in 22 years, marking a historic achievement early in his captaincy career. With the bat, he contributed 74 runs across two innings, further solidifying his importance to the side.
Mohammad Rizwan’s batting struggles in the T20I series
In the T20I series, Rizwan faced his first challenge as captain, overseeing the initial two matches in Brisbane and Sydney. Pakistan lost both encounters under his captaincy, with Rizwan drawing criticism for his batting performance in the first and second T20I.
While he departed for duck in the opening game, he scored only 16 runs off 26 balls in the second fixture. His inability to provide momentum to the team at the top of the order became a focal point of discussion among fans and experts.
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Reason for Rizwan’s absence
For the third and final T20I in Hobart, Rizwan was given a much-needed rest. In his absence, all-rounder Salman Ali Agha took on the captaincy responsibilities. This move provided an opportunity for Salman to showcase his leadership skills and for Pakistan to experiment with their lineup ahead of the upcoming Zimbabwe tour.
“Very excited. Looking forward to doing well. Few changes. It’s a good wicket, want to put up a good total on the board,” Salman said after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
Teams for the third T20I
Australia (Playing XI): Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (c & wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Salman Ali Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem.
