Rizwan fretting over ODI captaincy ahead of South Africa series as selection committee will meet on Monday to make a decision.
Rizwan ODI captaincy in doubt ahead of Pakistan’s series against South Africa.
In a statement, the PCB stated that it had “yet to finalise a captain” for the forthcoming series against South Africa, casting doubt on Mohammad Rizwan’s status as Pakistan’s ODI captain. According to the PCB, Mike Hesson, the head coach of the white-ball team, summoned the selection committee to decide on the ODI captaincy.
Rizwan, who was hired by the PCB last year and guided the team to ODI series wins in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, was not mentioned in the statement. With a series loss in the West Indies, an early Champions Trophy elimination, and a loss in a home tri-series final to New Zealand, the 2025 results have been less than ideal.
Although there had been conjecture regarding Rizwan’s fate, no particular cricketing rationale was offered for casting doubt on his position. Rizwan is the second-highest scorer for Pakistan in ODIs this year with 361 runs at over 36, and there hasn’t been a noticeable decline in his batting or keeping form. He struck 75 as part of a 163-run partnership with Salman Ali Agha in Test cricket, the other format for which he is currently selected, which gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead over South Africa in the current Test series.
The remark virtually guarantees Rizwan’s removal, even though it hasn’t happened yet. Shaheen Shah Afridi met this destiny in T20Is soon after Mohsin Naqvi became the PCB chairperson. During a news conference, Naqvi pointedly refused to declare that he would continue to captain, even though the recently hired Afridi had only commanded one series at the time.
“Even I don’t know who the captain will be,” Naqvi said at the time. “Whether Shaheen continues or a new captain comes in will be determined after the fitness camp. There are a number of technical factors we will consider, the details of which I do not want to go into. We want a long-term solution, whether it’s Shaheen or a new man. And then we intend to stick by that man, instead of just changing a captain just because you lose a match.”