Rizwan Appointed Pakistan Captain: Key Challenges For Newly Appointed Skipper

Rizwan appointed Pakistan captain [Source: @SalmanAsif2007/X.Com] Rizwan appointed Pakistan captain [Source: @SalmanAsif2007/X.Com]

It is official now, Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as the white-ball captain of the Pakistan team. There were several candidates for the captaincy post, but after careful consideration, PCB appointed Rizwan as their new leader.

Rizwan has prior experience of leading the side, as he often captains the PSL franchise, Multan Sultans, and has also led them to the PSL title. He is quite vocal and is the best available choice for the Pakistan white-ball team who are struggling to find an identity. However, with captaincy burden comes great responsibility as Rizwan will need to be at his toes right from day 1.

Hence, with the new captain appointed, we look at challenges Rizwan will face in his tenure.

Establish an identity in white-ball cricket

We are living in 2024 and Pakistan are still playing an outdated game in white-ball cricket. They don't have a set template and that has hampered their cricket in multinational tournaments.

Play cautiously, keep wickets till the end and then try and attack the bowlers. This is Pakistan's gameplay in ODIs and T20I cricket. However, with changing times, the gameplay has also changed and Rizwan needs to find a new identity. Perhaps he can take a leaf out of England's book and make Pakistan an attacking team.

Motivate Babar Azam to bring his old mojo back

There is no doubt that Babar Azam is the best Pakistan batter in limited-overs cricket. However, for the last one-year, his game has dropped massively and the champion batter hasn't won any crucial match for Pakistan.

So much so, that he stepped away from captaincy and was also dropped from the Test side. As a leader, Rizwan's challenge will be to make sure that Babar is motivated, especially with the Champions Trophy just around the corner.

No matter what people say, Rizwan needs Babar at his best so that Pakistan can get back to glory days. Can the newly appointed skipper motivate Babar? only time will tell.

Create a harmony within the side

Pakistan cricket is disjoint at the moment, with reports of internal tussles amongst players. No nation can move forward if the players are fighting amongst themselves. This will perhaps be the biggest challenge for Rizwan the captain.

He needs to make sure that each and every player comes together for the betterment of the Pakistan team, because that is the main priority. If the tussles continue, Pakistan cricket will go backwards.