Former Pakistan Cricketer Basit Ali believes Mohammad Rizwan will be a successful captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team. The wicketkeeper was appointed as the new white-ball skipper, replacing Babar Azam, and will lead the Men in Green on the upcoming tour of Australia.
Rizwan is quite an integral part of the side and quite vocal behind the stumps. Rizwan though should not take Australia lightly in white ball cricket given the fact that they are a force to reckon with even when they are playing a second string of players. Pakistan fans would be hoping for a better performance from their side as earlier in T20 WC 2024 they were outplayed by Zimbabwe and India in league stage.
Mohammad Rizwan will unite everybody- Basit Ali
During a live stream on YouTube on his channel, a fan asked Basit how Rizwan would fare as the Skipper. Replying to his question Basit said,
“Mohammad Rizwan teer nahi, atom bomb marega (Mohammad Rizwan won’t shoot an arrow, he will throw an atom bomb).”
The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that there will be more unity in the dressing room under Rizwan. He added,
“Rizwan will unite everybody. He has those qualities in him. You will see such developments in the coming days.”
Mohammad Rizwan’s first stint as captain will be against the mighty Aussies down under. Both teams will face in 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is. The series will begin on November 4 at MCG.
He was very angry after being removed from the selection committee– Basit Ali on Gary Kirsten’s resignation as Pakistan’s Coach
Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten was appointed as the white-ball team coach earlier this year. He assumed the role for a couple of years but just 6 months into his contract the legendary coach stepped down from his role as announced on October 28.
Speaking on that, Basit feels that Kirsten was left fuming following his snub from the selection committee. He added that the selection committee must discuss with the coach and captain before announcing any squad. Basit explained in his video,
“He was very angry after being removed from the selection committee. When Aaqib Javed removed Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood, Jason also had a problem with it, but he thought that it wasn’t the right time with a series going on. I am not saying that the selectors should not take inputs from Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie or Shan Masood. The selectors should always take the coach’s and the captain’s opinions while making a team.”
Pakistan’s red-ball coach Jason Gillespie will act as an Interim coach for the White ball team following Kirsten’s exit. He will be in charge for Pakistan’s tour of Australia.