Mohammad Rizwan eyes T20I whitewash after historic ODI series win over Australia

BRISBANE: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan has set his sights to clean sweep Australia in the upcoming three-match T20I series, scheduled to commence on November 14.

Pakistan, on Sunday, made history as they registered their first ODI series victory in Australia since 2002.

The green shirts suffered a narrow two-wicket defeat in the series opener but staged an astounding comeback by securing comprehensive victories in the remaining fixtures and clinched the three-match series 2-1.

After leading Pakistan to a drought-ending series victory, Rizwan expressed confidence that if his team plays as a unit then it has every chance to not only beat Australia in the upcoming T20I series but to whitewash them.

“No one was hoping that the team would beat Australia in Australia. We played like a unit and if we keep doing that, we will whitewash them in T20Is,” Rizwan told the players in a dressing room speech, released by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday.

He further urged the players to chase bigger goals like Champions Trophy, World Cups and Olympic medals.

"It is fine we have celebrated the ODI series win because no one expected us to win in Australia. But at the same time all the players must remember they are ambassadors of Pakistan and behave appropriately at all times on tour,” Rizwan stated.

"I think we must all strive to win big titles like the World Cups and Champions Trophy to show everyone what Pakistan cricket is capable of," he added.

The wicketkeeper batter then termed the ODI series victory over Australia a great source of learning before vowing to create history in whichever country the team tours in future.

It is pertinent to mention that the first T20I between Pakistan and Australia is scheduled to take place on November 14 here at The Gabba.

The second T20I will be played on November 16 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, followed by the final fixture on November 18 at Bellerive Oval, Hobart.

Pakistan’s T20I squad for Australia tour: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan