Babar Azam to play under captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan team captain Babar Azam will now play under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan.

Rizwan was appointed the captain of Vancouver Knights in Canada’s Global T20 League. Apart from Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali are also included in Vancouver’s squad.

South Africa’s Devine Pretorius, Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichane are also part of the squad. The Vancouver Knights added “Sir” to his name in the announcement of Rizwan’s captaincy.

According to the Vancouver management, Sir Rizwan is ready to lead the team to victory with strong batting and fast wicket keeping.

The Global T20 League will be held in Canada from July 25 to August 11.

Earlier, Pakistan’s white-ball captain, Babar Azam, has resumed training at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore after returning from the T20 World Cup 2024.

Azam has started physical training and is expected to begin batting in the nets from next week.

According to sources, Azam will be available for the Test series against Bangladesh in August, which is scheduled to take place on home soil.

Before the series, Azam will participate in the Global T20 Canada league, where he will represent the Vancouver Knights. The fourth edition of the Global T20 Canada league is scheduled to take place from July 25 to August 11, featuring six teams.

The Pakistan team, led by Azam, did not have a successful outing in the T20 World Cup 2024, failing to qualify for the Super Eight stage. The team faced criticism for their poor performance in the group stage matches, which included a defeat against debutants USA by five runs in a Super Over tie and a six-run loss against India.

Pakistan managed to secure a seven-wicket win against Canada on June 11, but their hopes of progressing in the tournament were ruined when the match between the US and Ireland was abandoned due to rain on June 14, resulting in the co-hosts securing one point.

The national team’s last league game against Ireland was only a formality, after which the squad returned home.