Rizwan will lead Pakistan as the new ODI captain against Australia at the MCG

LAHORE: Pakistan’s white-ball cricket team would have a new captain today (Monday) as Mohammad Rizwan leads the green shirts for the first time in this series. He would be leading the team against Australia in an ODI series of three matches.

The first match of the series will be played on November 3 at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and then the second ODI will be played on November 8 at Adelaide Oval. The third ODI in the series will see Pakistan complete their tour of Australia on November 10 at Perth Stadium. There would be a T20 series as well on November 14, 16, and 18.

The teams met in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match on the 20th of October this year. In this match, hosted in Bengaluru, Australia won the match by a count of 62 runs. Pakistan last played an ODI bilateral series against Australia in early 2022 in Pakistan, where Pakistan won the series 2-1.

For the first ODI, Pakistan announced its starting lineup, which includes two new debutants, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub. The 21-year-old Irfan, who has played three T20Is so far, has a good domestic record, scoring one century and three fifties in 24 List-A games. Saim Ayub, a left-handed batsman who has played six Tests and 23 T20Is, has scored a total of 1,472 runs in 35 List-A matches with 4 hundred and 7 fiftys. The ODI squad also contains encapped players Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, and Haseebullah.

Captain Mohammad Rizwan ahead of the series expressed his delight at being handed the captaincy of the national team. For him and his boys, it brings a lot of pride to represent Pakistan and get the chance to play abroad, especially in Australia. Rizwan declared, “I am sure these gentlemen will jump into the battle, because Australia is a wonderful opportunity.”.

Rizwan spoke about the team’s preparation in Melbourne, which involved extensive training, and expressed confidence about forming a competitive side for the ICC Champions Trophy of 2025, which is set to be hosted by Pakistan. “We are slated to play a substantial number of ODIs before we head back to Pakistan for the next ICC Champions Trophy.
The upcoming series starting from Australia, followed by Zimbabwe, and South Africa with the home tournament will all assist us in finding the right combination before the big tournament at home,” indicated Rizwan.

Along with the Pakistani captain, Australian captain Pat Cummins also commented on the highly anticipated series supervision on the edge and competitiveness at the beginning of the cricketer’s season commencing from Australia and Pakistan's match off. “Pakistan is a side with quality and big hitting players. They have played for us over the years, so it’s a big, thrilling game,” Cummins said. Both teams should have good support at the MCG, as they expect a huge crowd.