'How embarrassing', Pakistan fans slam management following on-field captaincy confusion between Rizwan and Sarfaraz

Source: Twitter

PAK vs NZ: Mohammad Rizwan came in as a subsitute on Day 3 of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand. Rizwan came in after regular captain Babar Azam along with two other players got down with a viral flu. Rizwan was spotted managing the field during his presence and it looked like he is the stand-in skipper in place of Babar until former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed called up for a DRS. The word from the dressing room of Pakistan was that Rizwan is the deputy to Babar. As per the ICC rulebook, a subsitute cannot take charge and the team management were informed about the scenario after Sarfaraz challenged the umpire's not-out decision for Devon Conway.

Clearly, there was confusion when substitute fielder Mohammad Rizwan led the team for a while. However, team management named wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as the designated stand-in skipper and he eventually took charge because substitute fielders can't captain a side.

The law in question - 24.1.2 - states: "A substitute shall not bowl or act as captain but may act as wicketkeeper only with the consent of the umpires."

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Pakistan team management doesn't aware of the ICC rules they sent substitute Rizwan to captain the side but according to the rules a substitute fielder cannot captain the side

Sarfraz is now captaining the side in the absence of Babar pic.twitter.com/lny9ztTpee

— ٰImran Siddique (@imransiddique89) December 28, 2022

Shan Masood and Salman Agha were the other two players who got sick alongside Babar and could not come out to play. Later on, all three players came out in the second session.

Does Rizwan not know that substitute fielders can’t actually captain the team during the time that they are on as substitutes

How embarrassing is this for the PCB as well as Rizwan himself - and what was the issue in letting Sarfaraz direct the fielders etc

— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) December 28, 2022

Lol , Rizwan is setting fields and changing bowlers.
While Sarfaraz is designated captain only for taking Review!! 

Saajish.  @Rizzvi73 @wwasay #PAKvsNZ

— cric guru  (@bccicc) December 28, 2022

Burns was given 59 inns too. That's a fair sample size to judge a player's performance. You are implying that if you are captain you can afford to have a low average. That's a first for me.

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 28, 2022

New Zealand's top-order batters closed within 85 runs of virus-hit Pakistan on the third day of the first test on Wednesday. Tom Latham hit a gritty 13th test century, Devon Conway made 92 and Daryl Mitchell struck an aggressive 42 off 47 balls to guide New Zealand to 353-4 at tea. Former captain Kane Williamson survived two stumping attempts against spinner Nauman Ali and overturned an lbw ruling against mystery slow bowler Abrar Ahmed to reach 66 not out at the break.

Mitchell, who scored three centuries and two half centuries in the three-test series against England in June, dominated the spinners and also smashed four successive boundaries against fast bowler Mohammad Wasim after Pakistan took the second new ball. Mitchell's rapid 65-run stand with Williamson helped New Zealand add 108 runs after lunch but the visitors lost Henry Nicholls (22), who dragged Nauman's low delivery back onto his stumps while attempting a square cut.

Abrar picked up the wickets of Mitchell and Latham through false shots as both went for reverse sweeps and the ball ballooned to close-in fielders after hitting their gloves. Latham became the first New Zealand opener to score 13 test hundreds. He raised his 100 off 161 balls with a single off Abrar before he fell for 113 following an extravagant reverse sweep.

Resuming on 165-0, Latham and Conway stretched their opening stand to a record 183 before Nauman struck in his first over. Conway had added 10 to his overnight 82 but was out lbw to a Nauman delivery which spun sharply from the rough. Stand-in skipper Sarfaraz successfully overturned umpire Aleem Dar's not-out decision through television referral.

The opening stand bettered New Zealand's previous first-wicket record against Pakistan when Mark Richardson and Matthew Bell shared a 181-run partnership in Hamilton in 2001. New Zealand is on its first test tour to Pakistan since 2002 and Karachi will also host the second test next week after Multan was ruled out because of weather concerns.