Not easy for Shan but Rizwan showed leadership qualities: Andy Flower

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Head coach Andy Flower opened up about Multan Sultans’ decision to replace Shan Masood with Mohammad Rizwan as captain for the upcoming sixth season of Pakistan Super League (PSL), due to begin from February 20 in Karachi.

While speaking in an online interaction with reporters on Wednesday, Flower was impressed with Rizwan’s leadership during Pakistan tour to New Zealand and believes he is a long term captain for the franchise.  

“Rizwan has shown leadership qualities when Babar [Azam] was injured. He also has a very good record in domestic cricket where he won the National T20 tournament for his domestic team [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]. Flower said. “We would like to be part of his development for his own good and also for Pakistan cricket.”

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Flower empathized with Shan Masood, who took Sultans to playoffs last season, but maintained that Rizwan is the right man for the captaincy role at the moment.

“I really enjoyed working with Shan Masood as he lead the team well but nothing is permanent in life. It is not easy for Shan, but he has faced a lot of hurdles in his young career and this is yet another for him,” he said.

“Shan is still part of the Multan team and will play a big part as a batsman and internal leader. However, we are now very much looking forward to Rizwan leading the side and getting us in the playoffs again,” he added.

Flower also added that young leg-spinner Usman Qadir is pushing hard for a place in the playing XI and he is happy to have a selection headache regarding wrist spinners ahead of the tournament.

“We know what Shahid Afridi and Imran Tahir can do after watching them for over a decade in international and franchise cricket. Usman Qadir is the new kid on the block, who has tons of talent and real energy. He bowls in an attacking manner, which is very exciting for not only Multan but also for Pakistan,” he said.

“These are very good selection dilemmas to have and one thing we have to consider while making a call is that Tahir is an overseas cricketer, so we will have to decide our combination accordingly,” he concluded.