Mohammad Rizwan appointed as Pakistan's vice-captain for T20I team ahead of New Zealand tour

Pakistan keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as Shaheen Shah Afridi's deputy for the T20I side, beginning from the tour of New Zealand, where the tourists will play a five-match series. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the same on Monday (January 8) on their social media handles.

With Babar Azam stepping down as the national team's captain across formats after the 2023 World Cup, Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi were among the prime contenders to take charge of the T20I side. It was the latter who got the role, boosted mainly by captaining Lahore Qalandars to consecutive titles in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). While Shadab Khan was the vice-captain of the side, his inconsistency saw the all-rounder fall out of favor.

However, Rizwan also has captaincy experience in the PSL, leading the Multan Sultans in 36 matches and winning 24 of them. With the ODI captaincy spot still vacant, he could fill that position.

Squad for five T20Is: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wk), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan.

The first of the five T20Is begins on January 12 at Eden Park in Auckland.

Pakistan are coming off a Test series defeat in Australia

Pakistan national cricket team (Image Credits: Twitter)

The Men in Green's most recent assignment was the grueling three-Test tour of Australia that concluded with the hosts taking it 3-0 to top the World Test Championship (WTC) table. The first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth saw Australia beat the tourists comprehensively by bowling them out for 89 runs in the fourth innings.

Nevertheless, Shan Masood's men competed a lot better in the next two Tests, but still made a handful of fielding lapses, costing them the Tests. The series marked veteran opener David Warner's retirement from the longest format as the tourists gave him a guard of honor in both innings and a signed jersey after the final Test in Sydney.