Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal comes after a selection meeting convened by PCB chairman, including the selectors and the head coach Mike Hesson. Pakistan won just one ODI in the last nine matches under Rizwan’s captaincy, including a winless campaign in the home Champions Trophy.
Leading Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi will succeed wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as the new ODI captain of the national side. The reports of Rizwan’s sacking started doing the rounds when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was reluctant in confirming him as the ODI captain in a statement over the weekend and a couple of days later, the board confirmed Afridi’s appointment, shortly after the completion of the first day’s play of the second Test between Pakistan and South Africa in Rawalpindi.
The decision came after a meeting between the selection committee and the white-ball head coach Mike Hesson in Islamabad on Monday, October 20. There was no official reason stated in the PCB statement regarding Rizwan’s dismissal, however, the decision came after Pakistan won just one ODI out of their last nine, including going winless in the Champions Trophy under the former skipper.
Pakistan didn’t do badly under Rizwan, especially at the start, winning three consecutive overseas ODI series in and against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, the downward slump began with the Champions Trophy and then continued against New Zealand and the West Indies before the new white-ball coach Hesson alongside the selectors decided to pull the plug.
In 20 matches under Rizwan’s captaincy, Pakistan won just nine and the Men in Green will now be keen to turn a corner under Afridi, whose first taste of the captaincy for the national side wasn’t the greatest. Pakistan lost the T20I series 1-4 to New Zealand in early 2024 in Afridi’s first and only captaincy assignment and his unceremonious removal months before the last year’s T20 World Cup was similar to Rizwan’s currently. However, the board, the head coach and Afridi himself will hope that the second coming is a good one.
Afridi has been in sensational form in the ODIs, being Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the format last year and Hesson and Co will hope that extra responsibility doesn’t affect the star pacer’s performance in any way. Afridi’s first assignment leading the ODI side would be three-match series against South Africa.