Mohammad Rizwan And...? 3 Players Who Can Replace Shan Masood As Pakistan Captain
Shan Masood likely to lose captaincy [Source: @dhillow_/X.Com]
Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of England in Multan and questions have been raised on the entire side, including their captain, Shan Masood. In the 6 Tests that Masood has captained, Pakistan have not tasted victory in any of those and have lost all the matches.
As per reports by Samaa TV, PCB are planning to sack Shan Masood as the captain of the side. Barring the just concluded Multan Test, Masood has been underwhelming with the bat and hasn't delivered when the team needed him the most. Moreover, his captaincy decisions have also been questioned, which might have prompted the PCB to think about sacking him.
Hence, with Masood likely to be removed, we look at 3 players who can become the next Pakistan Test skipper.
3) Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan is touted to replace Babar Azam as the white-ball skipper, and now he is the front-runner to become the Test captain as well. Rizwan has been an exceptional leader in Pakistan Super League, and is a safe choice for PCB.
However, it will be interesting to see if Rizwan takes both the Test and white-ball captaincy, or he decided to take just one. Rizwan is one of the few Pakistan players who thrive under pressure and captaincy is all about pressure, something which makes Rizwan a better player.
2) Saud Shakeel
The vice-captain of the Pakistan Test team, Saud Shakeel should be the natural choice to replace Shan Masood, but will PCB take a gamble and appoint him? After Rizwan, he is arguably Pakistan's best Test batter at the moment, and can be an interesting choice, if PCB are looking at the future.
He has shown considerable temperament at the international level and will be a good choice, but since Pakistan cricket is at an all-time low, will the captaincy burden affect his game? It'll be interesting to watch.
1) Agha Salman
Another surprising inclusion in the list is Agha Salman. He was outstanding in the Multan Test, scoring a hundred and a fifty. However, he couldn't prevent England from embarrassing Pakistan.
Another level-headed player Agha Salman, just like Saud Shakeel has great temperament and can be the X-factor choice, if the PCB decides to go that way. He is a proactive player, and can come under consideration.