"Mohammad Rizwan teer nahi, atom bomb marega" - Basit Ali on Pakistan's new white-ball captain

Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali is confident that Mohammad Rizwan will be a success as Pakistan's new white-ball captain. The keeper-batter replaced Babar Azam as the Men in Green's limited-overs skipper ahead of their upcoming Australia tour.

During a recent live session on his YouTube channel, a fan asked Basit how would Rizwan fare in the leadership role. Responding to the question, the cricketer-turned-pundit said (from 13:15):

"Mohammad Rizwan teer nahi, atom bomb marega (Mohammad Rizwan won't shoot an arrow, he will throw an atom bomb)."

Basit suggested that there will be a sense of unity within the Pakistani dressing room under Rizwan's captaincy, adding (from 12:04):

"Rizwan will unite everybody. He has those qualities in him. You will see such developments in the coming days."

Mohammad Rizwan's first assignment as skipper will be a three-match away ODI series against Australia. The opening encounter will take place in Melbourne on November 4.

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"He was very angry after being removed from the selection committee" - Basit Ali on Gary Kirsten's resignation as Pakistan's white-ball coach

Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten was roped in as Pakistan's white-ball head coach earlier this year and was offered a two-year contract. However, he resigned just six months into the role, with the official announcement coming on Monday, October 28.

Basit Ali opined that Kirsten was miffed after being removed from the selection committee. Reckoning that the selection committee must discuss with the coach and captain before finalizing the squad, he said in the aforementioned video (from 1:20):

"He was very angry after being removed from the selection committee. When Aaqib Javed removed Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood, Jason also had a problem with it, but he thought that it wasn't the right time with a series going on. I am not saying that the selectors should not take inputs from Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie or Shan Masood. The selectors should always take the coach's and the captain's opinions while making a team."

Following Kirsten's exit, Pakistan's red-ball coach Jason Gillespie was named as the interim coach for the six white-ball games in Australia.