Mohammad Rizwan's captaincy - Thoughts?

[Square Drive]

Seems like he's the guy now when it comes to captaining A/Emerging sides. Earlier they tried grooming the likes of Umar Amin, but seems that they've given that responsibility to Rizwan, who is still pretty young and is in great form with the bat alongside being a good WK.

My question is, from the (limited) sample size available, what do we think about Rizwan's captaincy thus far? Could he be the one being groomed to replace Sarfraz as our next WK/captain?

So far I don't like how he's been batting above the likes of Saud, even in 4-day cricket, even though he is backing it up by churning out the runs. Not much to say apart from that. I guess the Emerging Cup may tell us more.

Discuss.

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Seems like he's the guy now when it comes to captaining A/Emerging sides. Earlier they tried grooming the likes of Umar Amin, but seems that they've given that responsibility to Rizwan, who is still pretty young and is in great form with the bat alongside being a good WK.

My question is, from the (limited) sample size available, what do we think about Rizwan's captaincy thus far? Could he be the one being groomed to replace Sarfraz as our next WK/captain?

So far I don't like how he's been batting above the likes of Saud, even in 4-day cricket, even though he is backing it up by churning out the runs. Not much to say apart from that. I guess the Emerging Cup may tell us more.

Discuss.

Excellent leader with a killer mindset.Leading a very average team to victories against ENG A and NZ A

also a splendid batsman

Sadly he is playing at a time when Pak has Sarfraz who is unarguably one of Pakistans best WK batsmen.

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Haven't seen his on-field captaincy so cant comment.

Selfish/Negative point is he is batting above front-line batsmen like Saad Ali and Saud Shakeel in 4 days and one days. Saud is the 3rd best batting talent in Pakistan and the way Rizwan has treated him is awful. Saud is then dropped from the A team mysteriously as well.

Positive is while being the captain he is scoring big runs so his performances have improved with added responsibility.

[MMHS]

Should have never been made Captain of A team - a WK captain is the last thing that one should suggest. Normally, WK's are often go to guy for Captain, because of their involvement in every ball, and a WK fields at the centre most point with a great view of every fielding angles, batsmen and bowlers; therefore some of the best Captains in history have always relied on their WK for suggestions, but WKs in general don't make good Captains, because the job nature - it's extremely busy & rowdy job. A WK can always give his inputs to Captain, bowlers & fielders, for which he doesn't need to go for toss!!!!

PCB probably is compensating him by awarding Captaincy for the injustice done to him in last 1-2 years (may not be in playing XI, but guy deserved to be in squad for sure, and play some games, which PCB decided not to risk to keep their Captain dynamic comfortable), but I hope, Rizwan's Captaincy ends with the emerging cup, because it's absolute wasted investment - guy is not going to lead PAK (in fact, not sure if he is going to make the PAK XI in near future).

[Hasan123]

Shouldn’t be made captain but he should at least be in the squad so we can find out if he’s good enough for international cricket or not.

[ARK Rafay]

Should have never been made Captain of A team - a WK captain is the last thing that one should suggest. Normally, WK's are often go to guy for Captain, because of their involvement in every ball, and a WK fields at the centre most point with a great view of every fielding angles, batsmen and bowlers; therefore some of the best Captains in history have always relied on their WK for suggestions, but WKs in general don't make good Captains, because the job nature - it's extremely busy & rowdy job. A WK can always give his inputs to Captain, bowlers & fielders, for which he doesn't need to go for toss!!!!

PCB probably is compensating him by awarding Captaincy for the injustice done to him in last 1-2 years (may not be in playing XI, but guy deserved to be in squad for sure, and play some games, which PCB decided not to risk to keep their Captain dynamic comfortable), but I hope, Rizwan's Captaincy ends with the emerging cup, because it's absolute wasted investment - guy is not going to lead PAK (in fact, not sure if he is going to make the PAK XI in near future).

Don't fully agree. In fact we have had some great WK captains (e.g Dhoni, Sanga, de Villiers) Others include Mushffiq, Andy, Moin and few others

[MMHS]

Don't fully agree. In fact we have had some great WK captains (e.g Dhoni, Sanga, de Villiers) Others include Mushffiq, Andy, Moin and few others

Do you really think Sanga, AB, Mushi , Moin, Andy ... were great Captains? In fact, MSD was poor Test Captain.

Cricket is played for 150 years now - I can name many more names, who were Wkeeping stalwarts, and the most cunning head in the game, but never been appointed even regular deputy fora reason.

[Greenstorm]

PCB is investing in the wrong guy for captaincy. It will be difficult for him to find a place in the playing XI as a WK batsman even after Sarfaraz is gone. Saud Shakeel and Zeeshan Malik should be groomed as captains for future.

[hadi123]

No way is he going to be the next captain of Pakistan . Even him getting in the starting XI is not certain yet, and I can't see Sarfaraz going anywhere soon. This is Pakistan cricket so there is a chance Rizwan could captain at some point, but it won't be any time soon, IF he does ever captain Pakistan, it will be after 5 years, but even then I don't see it happening. Thoughts? @UN talkz

[CricFan2012]

Would be funny in a few years time if Rizwan replaces Sarfraz as captain and keeper

[gazza619]

A few good knocks for A side and all this hype?

Calm down guys, he may deserve another chance in the team but lets not get too carried away.

[Ahson8]

A very ordinary captain. Lets the game drift and bowling changes are poor

[UN talkz]

No way is he going to be the next captain of Pakistan . Even him getting in the starting XI is not certain yet, and I can't see Sarfaraz going anywhere soon. This is Pakistan cricket so there is a chance Rizwan could captain at some point, but it won't be any time soon, IF he does ever captain Pakistan, it will be after 5 years, but even then I don't see it happening. Thoughts? @UN talkz

He looks to have a good cricketing mind, i think majority of his decision making has been brilliant, except few like treatment of Saud and Saad in A team, continuing with Khushdil despite him being very poor.

[moghul]

Excellent leader with a killer mindset.Leading a very average team to victories against ENG A and NZ A

also a splendid batsman

Sadly he is playing at a time when Pak has Sarfraz who is unarguably one of Pakistans best WK batsmen.

Is it typo or what ?? Sarfraz " one of the best " , I think he is one of the worst Pakistan ever had.

[aukhan]

He believes in leading from the front so that's a positive sign.

[TalentSpotterPk]

Now that Inzamam has Selected good Pakistan A squad, (overall) politics and likes and dislikes are evident.

Case in limelight for me is Saud Shakeel.


Saud Shakeel has been with Pakistan A team for last 2,3 years.

First and foremost he played only 1 FC match (injustice) and scored 137 runs with 2 fifties at a SR of 65 and an Average of 137.

This was enough for me warranting him place in atleast next 2 FC tours of Pakistan A but timid, limited players were preferred over him.


In List A matches he is being floated in batting order which affected his performance. Surely it affects you.



Now if we analyse Pakistan A tour of UAE where they played against New Zealand A and Australia A than Saud again was mistreated by management with limited batting opportunities in both FC and List A when clearly he is much more dynamic batsman than Saad, Usman, Rizwan etc.


Pakistan A coach and Captain M Rizwan are to be blamed



It’s not about winning wrt A team tours and matches. It’s about players development. Clearly selfish coach or captain would try there best to hide Saud Shakeel and give him limited opportunities.


Yes Khushdil Shah had a good List A season but so did Saud. Saud was with Pakistan A so he missed domestic List A matches. To his credit Khusdil played a blinder against Hong Kong at number 3 but who deserved to bat in top 4 today ? Saud or Khushdil ? Surely Saud Shakeel.




This keeps on happening in Pakistan Cricket unfortunately. Since Saud Shakeel is a disciplined, hardworking team man so his goodness is being exploited.




Mostly I do not like Mohammad Yousuf’s analysis but it is a fact that He rarely hypes any domestic player or even shies away from discussing, but even Yousaf said this during Under 19 WC that he saw glimpses of Saeed Anwar in Saud Shakeel’s batting which is a huge compliment coming from Yousaf who along with Saeed & Inzamam were most dynamic and classical performers from Pakistan in last 30 years.




Domestic Av & SR would not tell you what Saud Shakeel is. Mostly he was thrown to 6 or 7 by Bhaanja Saab where he had to resurrect Khi’s batting hence his SR is low in FC and comparable with Usman, Saad but when He captained PTV this season he averaged 46 with a SR of 61 compared to his overall SR of 49. Similar is the story of his List A career aswell.


@Mamoon SR debate in context of ground realities.

[TalentSpotterPk]

PCB is investing in the wrong guy for captaincy. It will be difficult for him to find a place in the playing XI as a WK batsman even after Sarfaraz is gone. Saud Shakeel and Zeeshan Malik should be groomed as captains for future.

He or the coach believes in hiding Saud Shakeel. Zeeshan Malik deserved Pakistan A debut today. Surely Ali Imran did well but we could have adjusted Ali Imran at 3 and Saud at 4 with Zeeshan opening.

3 List A hundreds in last 4 matches and Rizwan and Coach decide not to play him (Zeeshan)

[Mustafamq]

Hardly appreciated, Rizwan has excelled in the role he’s been assigned. Led the team to series victory over New Zealand A and England Lions, which is no ordinary feat. His innings in Pakistan single wicket win over the Lions is onus to his mental toughness and the smartness with which he batted with a tail-ender, Rahat, at the other end.

In yesterday’s match against Hong Kong, Rizwan, building on the success of his pacers, brought on Ali Imran and Hussain Talat to bowl ahead of Asghar and Ashiq Ali, the two frontline spinners. Once the opening was there, Rizwan brought back Ilyas, his best bowler of the game, to clean the tail and wrap up the win.
Today, with both pacers unable to breakthrough, rather than using Ali Imran and Talat, Rizwan brought Asghar in early. Asghar and Ashiq dried the runs and Ashiq provided two key breakthroughs. To build on that, Rizwan brought Khushdil to bowl who claimed another two wickets with Saud holding other end.

Lastly, I’ve been most impressed by Rizwan’s usage of Khushdil as his third spinner. Khushdil has claimed 11 wickets in 6 outings for Pakistan A and the Emerging Team. Sporadically, he has gotten a few overs from Saud too. This tells us he’s fully aware of all the resources available to him, in addition to knowing how and when to use them. Also, knowing the openers had batted deep and provided the team with a platform, Rizwan promoted Khushdil, the only genuine power hitter in the side, which turned out to be a masterstroke and propelled the team to a mammoth total.

Rizwan’s only criticism, under this thread, has been him, allegedly, denying Saud an upper middle-order spot. Onus hardly falls on him because Rizwan, Talat, Saad Ali, Saud or Mohammad Saad - all of them are near similar batsmen suited to play the same role and neither of them are power hitters. To accommodate all four in same lineup is a difficult task and this problem is not Rizwan’s or the management’s to deal with, it runs deeper in the domestic system with players not being prepared to occupy specific roles at that level. Rizwan’s performance as captain has been more than satisfactory, deserves all the praise for it.

[TalentSpotterPk]

Only 172 to defend.

Bring fastest bowler of tourney Musa on now.

[Mainul]

Excellent leader with a killer mindset.Leading a very average team to victories against ENG A and NZ A

also a splendid batsman

Sadly he is playing at a time when Pak has Sarfraz who is unarguably one of Pakistans best WK batsmen.

He was, but not now. I think Pakistan should seriously think about Sarfraz. If he can't regain form, no need to continue him just as a captain.

[emranabbas]

Player outside the team is always better than the player inside the team.

[Zakaz]

Only 172 to defend.

Bring fastest bowler of tourney Musa on now.

your so called fastest bowler got spanked for 7.2 an over, overrated bowler.

[TalentSpotterPk]

your so called fastest bowler got spanked for 7.2 an over, overrated bowler.

Nops.


He was brought on very late. He is work in progress at the moment but with such a less score to defend he should have opened the bowling along with Ilyas.


Musa at such a young age along with Arshad Iqbal and Naseem Shah has bowled some brute of spells in FC Cricket. Yes height is his disadvantage but he has potential to become a genuine fast bowler.

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Nops.


He was brought on very late. He is work in progress at the moment but with such a less score to defend he should have opened the bowling along with Ilyas.


Musa at such a young age along with Arshad Iqbal and Naseem Shah has bowled some brute of spells in FC Cricket. Yes height is his disadvantage but he has potential to become a genuine fast bowler.

I see him as Pakistan's Neil Wagner. Btw how was Rizzo's captaincy today ??

[Zakaz]

I see him as Pakistan's Neil Wagner. Btw how was Rizzo's captaincy today ??

well we lost by 7 wickets and 23 overs still left to bowl, so...

[TalentSpotterPk]

I see him as Pakistan's Neil Wagner. Btw how was Rizzo's captaincy today ??

He is a clueless Captain who has mistreated Saad & Saud in last 2 months.


He has no sense at all as to when to use spinners and when to use Fast bowlers.


He is also clueless in a given match as to who his Strike bowler is ¿


He took last match vs BD as if he was playing some friendly match preferred partime spinners over genuine bowlers.


172 to defend only and Ilyas bowled only two overs. He even took hat-rick in this tournament but couldn't impress Rizwan sahib.


Today he needed to give new ball to Musa along with Ilyas and tell him Hey we only have 172 on the board so Run in for 4 overs and bowl quick and get me some wickets infront but instead He brought Musa on in the 7th over with IND E cruising at 32/1.

[DRsohail]

Clueless, or not with a clear mind. May be he is feeling insecure so no chances or proper chances for Saud Shakil and SAad.

[Pete Rose]

He is a very poor batsman, hence will not make any team, hence no point in discussing his captaincy

[gazza619]

He does seem to be in the runs off late. May get into the team for one of the formats

[SarfiBabarHaris]

He is a clueless Captain who has mistreated Saad & Saud in last 2 months.


He has no sense at all as to when to use spinners and when to use Fast bowlers.


He is also clueless in a given match as to who his Strike bowler is ¿


He took last match vs BD as if he was playing some friendly match preferred partime spinners over genuine bowlers.


172 to defend only and Ilyas bowled only two overs. He even took hat-rick in this tournament but couldn't impress Rizwan sahib.


Today he needed to give new ball to Musa along with Ilyas and tell him Hey we only have 172 on the board so Run in for 4 overs and bowl quick and get me some wickets infront but instead He brought Musa on in the 7th over with IND E cruising at 32/1.

Thnx for the detail reply bro.

[Asher]

He is clueless as a captain and as a batsman. He's been in the runs lately but against international standard bowlers, I doubt he'll score much. Watched him bat against Australia odi series 2 years back and he couldn't put bat to ball. If you observe him closely, his technique is horrendous. Jumps in the air to play horizontal bat shots rather than going back and across.
As for captaincy, most of the Pakistan cricketers lack education hence intellectual guidance. You need a sound head for captaincy. There's no structure in grooming captains in Pakistan cricket. Recent example, Umar Amin was the best man to lead the T20 A side against NZ but a month down the line, Shan Masood replaces him in the absence of Rizwan. Top that up with Umar being dropped altogether from the squad.

[Major]

Wonderful captaincy by him today

[shamaan]

Brilliant captaincy by Rizwan bowling changes alongside field placements.

[MenInG]

Brilliant captaincy from Rizwan to pull the game back from a point when things were starting to slip.

[Salman4.]

Would've been very easy to lose your calm the way Haris and Saim were batting. But Rizwan remained patient and made the right decisions.

[topspin]

Credit where credit due. Excellent captaincy today.

[pakfan54588]

Seems like he is eager to prove a point to pcb new regime .Its good healthy competition going on between him ,Haris and sarfraz

[Caved12]

Brilliant captaincy from Rizwan today, but nothing new here as he has been doing this for ages already

[MenInG]

I am surprised people didnt say that he got lucky!

Think the Haris run out was a piece of luck that turned the game.

If Saim and Haris had stayed on, this could have been different story

[PakPremi]

Rizwan has always been a good captain like Sarfraz, and also brilliant batsmen and a wicket keeper. Pakistan are lucky to have him in their team.

[GudduBadmash]

The best captain in Pakistan. Has three inexperienced pacers, a inexperienced leggie and two part timers but still getting the best out of them.

Not only that they all love and respect him.
The longer Pakistan keeps him out of captaincy it is only their loss. There is nobody better. Perfect blend of attacking and defensive

[Major]

Should be made team captain of pakistan. What a team he has made in psl

[hitthestump]

Should be made team captain of pakistan. What a team he has made in psl

Given how bad Babar is and yet still has decent white ball results, it makes you wonder how much influence Rizwan has been having for the national team.

We have seen Babar struggle a lot as a captain when Rizwan is not around.

[ads101]

I would have already made him captain in LOI and put him as opener in ODIs too.

[hitthestump]

I would have already made him captain in LOI and put him as opener in ODIs too.

Imam doesn't deserve to lose his spot. But Rizwan would be the first person i'd put there in case of injury of loss of form.

[Barragan]

Excellent captaincy.

Didn't let the Qalandars get back in the game and used his bowlers brilliantly.

Don't know why he isn't the current national captain in T20's already.

[Firebat]

3 finals in a row for Multan under Riz.

[Saj]

Very good today, helped by a good toss to win.

Led his team well.

[The_KING]

He is a really good captain

[ArabKnight]

Ihsanullah is a good captain-bowler.

[TheSultan]

He’s lucky he has Andy Flower as coach and it also looks like Kieron Pollard is running the show in the background.

If Pakistan can have Andy as coach and Pollard as a playing captain in the background, then Rizwan may bring some improvement to our national team’s captaincy

[Rana]

He’s lucky he has Andy Flower as coach and it also looks like Kieron Pollard is running the show in the background.

If Pakistan can have Andy as coach and Pollard as a playing captain in the background, then Rizwan may bring some improvement to our national team’s captaincy

Pollard
Russow
Miller

Otherwise I’m sure Rizwan believes Khushdil and Iftikhar are the Miller and Pollard of Pakistan. Maybe he can see a Russow in Sahibzada Farhan at 3?

We all know about his delusions of grandeur in regards to his players

[PakEngFan]

The best captain in Pakistan by a country mile.

[ammar_merry]

Pollard
Russow
Miller

Otherwise I’m sure Rizwan believes Khushdil and Iftikhar are the Miller and Pollard of Pakistan. Maybe he can see a Russow in Sahibzada Farhan at 3?

We all know about his delusions of grandeur in regards to his players

Tell us the truth. He is in the final and you are absolutely hating it.
We will also not talk about top 2 wicket takers of the season.

[Gullycricket]

Pollard
Russow
Miller

Otherwise I’m sure Rizwan believes Khushdil and Iftikhar are the Miller and Pollard of Pakistan. Maybe he can see a Russow in Sahibzada Farhan at 3?

We all know about his delusions of grandeur in regards to his players

Poor Rana wants to see Riz fail hard. Gets humbled every time

[Energy]

Rizwan is a good captain, but going forward Pakistan should look at Shadab and Shaheen for LOI captaincy roles. They are longer term and much better choices, with Rizwan playing as a senior figure.

[Liverpool_Faizan]

Dude knows how to win

[shujaatraza]

Pollard
Russow
Miller

Otherwise I’m sure Rizwan believes Khushdil and Iftikhar are the Miller and Pollard of Pakistan. Maybe he can see a Russow in Sahibzada Farhan at 3?

We all know about his delusions of grandeur in regards to his players

Multan wins because of Andy Flower, Pollard, Miller etc.
Multan loses because of the fraudster Rizwan.
How convenient.

[Rana]

Multan wins because of Andy Flower, Pollard, Miller etc.
Multan loses because of the fraudster Rizwan.
How convenient.

Pretty much so. Yes

[volcyz]

What personal grudge/vandetta do you have against Rizwan?

[Rana]

What personal grudge/vandetta do you have against Rizwan?

You should have been able to work it out by now

[Firebat]

Give the man the credit he deserves

3rd PSL final in a row!

[Firebat]

Ihsanullah goes for 24 runs in an over so Mohammad Rizwan gives him a hug - Simon Doull "you can't let one over ruin it, that's really good captaincy from Rizwan" #PSL8 #LQvMS pic.twitter.com/OVtbMii5Hd

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) March 18, 2023

[Rana]

What airlines is he? Air Anchor?

[Ahmed216]

Give the man the credit he deserves

3rd PSL final in a row!

He’s poor today but deserves a lot of credit for making it thrice in a row.

[Saj]

I thought he left his spinners too late.

They only bowled 5 overs between them also:

Multan Sultans spinners bowled just 5 overs between them:

5-35-4 (12 dot balls)

[Zaz]

Rizwan is a players captain Hes done wonders to get this team to another final

[daytrader]

Rizwan going in with the same match winning combination. Would've have liked to see Miller instead of Cottrell.

[Saj]

Rizwan going in with the same match winning combination. Would've have liked to see Miller instead of Cottrell.

Miller's on international duty.

[daytrader]

Miller's on international duty.

I see, then this is the best he can do. No criticism from my side then

[Bewal Express]

Poor in his handling of Ihsanullah. He bowls an excellent over and then gets take off. Why worry about later, when you can deal with later now.

[topspin]

Overrated by the fan club.

[Rana]

Air Anchor

2 finals botched

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Air Anchor

2 finals botched

Fair enough. Got to respect him for getting there though, or qualifying for the playoffs

[Rana]

Fair enough. Got to respect him for getting there though, or qualifying for the playoffs

He’s a bubble waiting to burst as captain too.

[PakEngFan]

He’s a bubble waiting to burst as captain too.

At least he got his team to a final unlike your hero’s and ended up as the highest scorer again.

[Rana]

At least he got his team to a final unlike your hero’s and ended up as the highest scorer again.

Too many runs….but not when they matter

Just isn’t that guy Pal.

[PakEngFan]

Too many runs….but not when they matter

Just isn’t that guy Pal.

Doesn’t mattered at least this tournament has highlighted to us why he replaced fakhar as an opener for Pakistan and more so today.

[Rana]

Doesn’t mattered at least this tournament has highlighted to us why he replaced fakhar as an opener for Pakistan and more so today.

Fakhar 26 sixes and his team won the PSL

By 1 run. Fakhar’s runs throughout the tournament in the position they came have won his team the PSL

Rizwan’s runs have botched 2 PSL finals

[Energy]

Gun player, and needs to captain the national team. Well played Rizzy boy and may Allah grant you more success.