PCB denies rumors of captaincy changes involving Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has strongly rejected reports claiming that Mohammad Rizwan could lose the ODI captaincy or that Shan Masood might be replaced as Test captain.

According to PCB sources on Monday, the board clarified that no such proposals were discussed and termed reports of Salman Ali Agha being considered as ODI captain or Saud Shakeel taking over the Test side as completely baseless.

PCB officials further confirmed that the selection committee has not held any talks regarding captaincy changes. They also clarified that no player’s central contract category has been altered.

The board’s clarification came after rumours circulated on social media, creating doubts over the leadership roles of Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood. PCB stressed that these claims are false and misleading.

The denial comes at a time when Pakistan is preparing for a busy schedule, starting with the Tri-Nation Series in Sharjah later this month, followed by the Asia Cup in September.

Pakistan will begin their Tri-Nation Series campaign against Afghanistan on August 29 at 7:00 pm local time. Each team will face the others twice, with the top two sides advancing to the final on September 7.

Once the series ends, Pakistan will shift its attention to the 2025 Asia Cup, starting on September 9 with the opening game between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

The tournament features eight teams split into two groups. Pakistan has been placed in Group A alongside India, UAE, and Oman, while Group B includes Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

The men in green will start their Asia Cup journey against Oman on September 12, followed by a much-awaited clash with India on September 14. Their last group-stage match will be against hosts UAE on September 17.

Tri-Nation Series schedule (all matches in Sharjah, 7:00 pm local time):

• August 29 – Afghanistan vs Pakistan
• August 30 – UAE vs Pakistan
• September 1 – UAE vs Afghanistan
• September 2 – Pakistan vs Afghanistan
• September 4 – Pakistan vs UAE
• September 5 – Afghanistan vs UAE
• September 7 – Final

ACC Asia Cup T20 2025 (Pakistan fixtures): 

• September 12 – Pakistan vs Oman
• September 14 – Pakistan vs India
• September 17 – Pakistan vs UAE
• September 20–26 – Super Fours (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)
• September 28 – Final (Dubai)

Pakistan squad for Tri-Series and Asia Cup 2025:

Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.