Pakistan team skipper Babar Azam will now play under wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan’s captaincy.
A Global T20 Canada League franchise, the Vancouver Knights, appointed Rizwan as their skipper on Sunday. The GT20 Canada franchise also honored the Pakistani opener with the title of 'sir' in their social media announcement.
“Hear ye, hear ye! The Vancouver Knights have chosen their captain for GT20 Season 4: Sir Muhammad Rizwan! ????️ With his mighty batting skills and sharp wicketkeeping, he's ready to lead our charge to victory. Prepare for battle, Knights!” the Vancouver Knights announced on Facebook.
The Knights' roster also includes pacer Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali, New Zealand’s Michael Rippon, South African Dwaine Pretorius, Namibia’s Ruben Trumpelmann, and Guyana’s Jeremy Gordon.
GT20 Canada’s season 4 will begin on July 25, with the final scheduled for August 11 in Canada.
Seven Pakistan cricket players — Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Nawaz — will feature in the league.
Notably, Babar, Rizwan, Amir, Iftikhar, and Shaheen were also part of Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, where the team struggled and exited early.
The league will also feature other international cricketers such as Mohammad Nabi, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, David Wiese, Hazratullah Zazai, David Warner, and Carlos Brathwaite.
The defending champions of GT20 Canada are the Montreal Tigers, who won the title in 2023 by defeating the Knights in the final. Rizwan was part of the Knights last year as well.