Rizwan's vice-captaincy: Boost for Pakistan or conflict of interest?

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Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), resigned from his position following accusations of a conflict of interest. PCB formed a committee to investigate allegations against Inzamam, but the findings are yet to be disclosed, leaving the matter unresolved.

The decision came in the wake of a report by Cricket Pakistan, which pointed out a potential conflict involving one of Inzamam's co-directors at the UK-based company Yazoo International Ltd. This co-director, Talha Rehmani, also serves as the managing director of Saya Corporation, an agency representing prominent Pakistani cricketers such as T20I captain Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan. Notably, Rizwan is also listed as a director at Yazoo in the UK public sector database gov.uk.

Last year in November, the Director of Media and Communications of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Aalia Rasheed, clarified that Rizwan was not part of the investigation against Inzamam in the conflict of interest case, as Rizwan didn’t hold any position that could influence team selections.

“Rizwan is not involved in this matter at all because a player has a limited career and they need to invest the money they earn in order to be financially stable after their playing days are over. Even Inzamam would not have been questioned if he was not the chief selector,” Aalia told a local media outlet.

Despite the clarification regarding Rizwan's non-involvement in the aforementioned case, he has now assumed the role of vice-captain for Pakistan's T20I team. This implies his participation in team management and selection matters, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest stemming from his new role.