Pakistan under Mohammad Rizwan: A peek into his captaincy

WEB DESK: Since taking the reins of Pakistan’s white ball squads from Babar Azam in late October, Mohammad Rizwan has led Pakistan to three ODI series victories. However, Pakistan have struggled in the shortest format.

A look back on the 32-year-old’s captaincy so far is necessary in order to determine where the skipper’s style has been effective and where it has fallen short.

ODIS

Rizwan has led Pakistan in three ODI and T20I series since his appointment. In early November Pakistan faced off against Cricket behemoth Australia. The men in green had a rough start, losing the first match. However, the men in green would come back to win the next two, as Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi would have a couple of stellar bowling performances, while Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique established themselves as a deadly opening pair.

Pakistan would have a similar series in Zimbabwe, losing the first match after DLS determined that their 60 for 6 in 21 overs was 80 runs short of where they needed to be in order to reach the 206 target. Pakistan would come back in a big way in the next game, holding Zimbabwe to 145 runs as Abrar Ahmed and Salman Agha took seven wickets just between the two of them. Ayub would continue to impress, scoring 113 runs off 62 deliveries. They would win the series in the third match, as Kamran Ghulam scored 103, while Pakistan’s bowlers shared the wickets among them.

The most recent series against South Africa was Pakistan’s most impressive outing, as they became the first team ever to whitewash the Proteas on their home turf. Salman Agha, Shaheen, and debutant Sufiyan Muqeem were the stand out bowlers, each taking a four wicket all in the first, second, and third ODI respectively. Ayub’s fantastic batting would continue, as he scored two centuries. Rizwan and Babar scored two half centuries each, while Kamran and Salman Agha both scored one 50.

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T20IS

Pakistan didn’t find the same success in the shorter format, only winning one out of their three series. They were whitewashed by Australia as Pakistan’s batting line-up struggled to find their rhythm throughout the series. Usman Khan would be the only player to score a half century and Rauf would take four wickets, both of which happened in the second contest.

Pakistan would then rebound with a 2-1 series win against Zimbabwe, however Rizwan was rested and Agha took over for the series.

He would return against South Africa and would once again be swept, as the Proteas won two out of the three matches, and the third was washed out. Despite Rizwan’s 74 off 62 in the first contest, Pakistan would fail to reach the 183-run target as the skipper couldn’t find any support. In the second and final match, Ayub had led Pakistan to a score of 206 runs, scoring 98 of those himself. However, Pakistan’s bowlers failed to defend the total.

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HAS RIZWAN DONE WELL?

Based on the previous three tours, Rizwan’s strategy seems to be better suited to the slower play in ODIs, a style that is not compatible with the shortest format. Pakistan’s first T20I against South Africa is a prime example of such. On paper, Rizwan’s 74 runs is great, however once considering that it took 62 deliveries for him to reach the total, its lack of effectiveness is revealed.

Ayub’s performance in the two matches showcase a style more suited to the format, as he had a strike rate of 206 and 171 in the first and second match respectively. The 22-year-old score 31 and 98 runs in the first and second match respectively, on great efficiency.

Currently, Pakistan play slow. The team has too many anchors with Rizwan, Babar, and Salman, who often find themselves squandering power play overs. And the players that are meant to support them by making quick runs have failed to do so.

Pakistan’s strategy to keep their wickets in hand in order to mount a late offensive often backfires, resulting in the men in green dropping like flies near the end of the match, failing to put up a defendable score.

While Rizwan and Pakistan have created an effective style of play for ODIs, winning three series in the span of two months, it hasn’t been convertible to the shortest format. Rizwan and his team will need to adapt to the faster pace of the T2O game.

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