Babar Azam tendered his resignation from captaincy to focus on batting.
The ODI captaincy was expected to be handed to Babar Azam for the upcoming assignments. However, the senior batter tendered his resignation around midnight on Wednesday (October 1), citing that he wants to focus on his batting.
Insiders suggest that appointing the next captain for the shorter formats will not be easy for white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten or the selection committee.
"Mohammad Rizwan is the obvious choice for the white-ball captaincy given that, along with Babar, he is the only player who is an automatic selection in all formats of the game," said an insider, as quoted by PTI.
However, the jam-packed international calendar poses a challenge to red-ball coach Jason Gillespie, Kirsten, the PCB, and the selectors regarding Rizwan's workload.
Rizwan, Babar, and Shaheen Afridi feature in all three formats of the game, making workload management a significant concern.
Pakistan is scheduled to play 18 limited-overs matches between November and December, followed by a two-Test series in South Africa.
After returning home in January, the team will lock horns with the West Indies in a two-Test series and then the ODI tri-series including New Zealand and South Africa. Subsequently, Pakistan will defend the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil in February-March.
Following the ICC event, the Men in Green will travel to New Zealand for a white-ball series before the PCB organises the Pakistan Super League.
"Babar was captain in all three formats for more than three years, but Kirsten and the selectors have reservations over whether Rizwan could handle the workload in the coming months while also leading the side in ODIs and T20Is," said another source.
It is likely that the PCB might have different ODI and T20I captains or name a strong deputy to Rizwan, ensuring he gets adequate breaks to manage his workload.
Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, and Shaheen are among the candidates under consideration for either the role of vice-captaincy or leading the T20I or ODI side.
The source mentioned that Kirsten had already informed the PCB that, following Babar's loss of confidence and form, he didn't think any other player could handle the captaincy pressures in two formats.
(With PTI Inputs)