Will beat Australia in Australia: Pakistan white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan

Newly appointed Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan believes that Pakistan can win against Australia Down Under in their upcoming white-ball tour. Pakistan were blanked by Australia in the 2023 3-match Test series away from home.

However, Rizwan has backed the side to do well, as they had competed well against Australia in all three Test matches and lost due to their own failings in crucial moments of the game. Speaking via an official Pakistan Cricket Board video, Rizwan said that the team would be working on fixing their repeat issues in this series.

“There’s no doubt that we’ve faced difficulties in Australia because when you look at the past results, they show that we had some trouble there. But I believe the team going now will meet the nation’s expectations,” Rizwan said in a video.

“In the last series we played in Australia, every match was almost ours to win, but we lost very closely. We have noticed a few things and will work on them when we go there, taking positives from it. Inshallah, Australia ko Australia mein haraenge (God willing, we’ll defeat Australia in Australia),” he further added.

The wicketkeeper-batter was announced as the captain of the side on Sunday, October 27. Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB, made the announcement at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, where they also announced all-rounder Salman Ali Agha as the side’s new vice-captain. Rizwan will take over their reins of Babar Azam, who earlier stepped down as the captain of the team in limited-overs cricket.

The 30-year-old Babar was re-appointed as skipper back in March after he initially stepped down following Pakistan’s poor show in the ODI World Cup on Indian soil last year. But the move backfired as Pakistan could not go beyond the group stage in the Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United Arab Emirates (UAE), which eventually led to Babar yet again stepping down from his role as the side’s skipper.

“We spoke to the 5 mentors of the Champions Cup and the coaches and the majority of them believed that Mohammad Rizwan should be the captain and Salman Ali Agha the vice-captain of the side,” Mohsin Naqvi said in the press conference.