Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has backed Mohammad Rizwan to become Pakistan’s new skipper replacing Babar Azam. Notably, Rizwan and Babar were up against each other in Match 4 of the Pakistan Champions Cup between Markhors and Stallions where Markhors emerged victorious by 126 runs.
Batting first, Markhors were bundled for 231 runs in 45 overs. In reply, as Zahid Mahmood picked up a sensational 5/18 in 4.4 overs. Following his team’s remarkable victory, Basit Ali showered praise on Rizwan’s captaincy calling him the best skipper in Pakistan.
He showered plaudits for Rizwan’s game sense and his pitch-reading abilities saying even Babar couldn’t have done that. Basit further said that him not being the captain of the current team is a big loss for the nation.
“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,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Babar’s poor tenure as Pakistan skipper
Notably, Babar has been under fire for his poor captaincy ever since the Asia Cup 2023 where Pakistan failed to qualify for the final. They were further knocked out of the ODI World Cup 2023 in the league stage itself followed which included an embarrassing loss against first-timers USA.
He also performed poorly in their recent 0-2 series loss against Bangladesh scoring just 64 runs from four innings. On the other hand, Rizwan finished as the highest run scorer of the series with 294 runs from four innings. The 32-year-old was also the highest run scorer of the team in the ODI World Cup 2023 where he scored 395 runs from eight innings.
Hence, Rizwan has shown his prowess with the bat across formats and could soon be appointed as the skipper given the current tumultuous period in Pakistan cricket.
