Rizwan's ODI captaincy on line as PCB convenes joint meeting of selectors, advisory board

Experienced wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan's captaincy in the 50-overs format could be on the line when a joint meeting of the national selection committee and advisory board of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is held on Monday in Lahore.

The PCB confirmed in a statement that the head coach of Pakistan's white ball format teams Mike Hesson had written to the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi requesting for a meeting of the selectors and advisors to be convened to discuss the ODI team matters and captaincy.

"No decision has been taken on the ODI captaincy. The chairman, Mohsin Naqvi has asked the selectors and advisors to meet on Monday to discuss the matter," it said. Hesson will also be part of the meeting.

At present Pakistan has three different captains in the three formats with Shan Masood leading the Test side, Rizwan the ODI squad and Salman Ali Agha the national T20 squad.

Though there are rumors about Shaheen Shah Afridi or Salman Alli Agha replacing Rizwan as captain, these are not confirmed but the convening of the meeting indicates Hesson might push for a change in the captaincy as per his plans.

But whether his views are accepted by the selectors and advisors remains to be seen.

The selectors include Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali while the advisors are former Test players Sarfaraz Ahmed and Sikander Bakht.

Sarfaraz and Sikander directly report to the chairman and act as his advisors on all cricket matters.

Rizwan, who like Babar Azam has been sidelined from the T20 format since December 2024, captained Pakistan to ODI series wins in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa but the team's performance dipped in a tri-series with South Africa at home and New Zealand before the ICC Champions Trophy and major events.

Even after the Champions Trophy, Rizwan was captain when Pakistan lost a series in New Zealand and then in the West Indies.