PSL 2024: Rilee Rossouw named Quetta Gladiators' captain

Explosive South African batter Rilee Rossouw has been appointed as the captain of the Quetta Gladiators after Sarfaraz Ahmed stepped down from the role earlier this week.

Under Sarfaraz, the Gladiators reached three finals and also won the title for the first time in 2019. However, last season turned out to be a disaster for them as they finished last on the points table, with just three wins from ten matches. Also, the former Pakistan captain didn't have a memorable campaign with the bat as he managed just 162 runs from eight innings at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 104.51.

Also read: PSL 2024: Sarfaraz Ahmed steps down from Quetta Gladiators' captaincy 

Earlier this week, Quetta’s owner Nadeem Omer revealed that Sarfaraz wanted to take a break from captaincy. According to reports, apart from Rossouw, young Pakistani batter Saud Shakeel was also in contention to take charge of the Gladiators. However, the team management eventually decided to bestow the responsibility on the 34-year-old Rossouw.

After being at the helm of the Gladiators for eight seasons, Sarfaraz is set to play only as a wicketkeeper-batter in the impending edition of PSL. However, as a senior member of the side, the 36-year-old will have a role to play in guiding the younger players in the side.

Quetta will begin their campaign in PSL 2024 against Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday, February 18, at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Rilee Rossouw will look to bounce back after dismal SA20 2024 performance

The left-handed batter represented Pretoria Capitals, who failed to qualify for the playoffs in the recently concluded SA20 2024. Rossouw had a forgettable campaign with the bat as he scored just 156 runs from nine innings at an average of 17.33 and a strike rate of 110.63. He was dismissed for ducks in a couple of games and his most horrendous performance came against Durban Super Giants, where he played a peculiar knock of 10 runs off 27 balls.

He would hope to bounce back strongly in PSL 2024 and push his case for a selection to South Africa's squad for the T20 World Cup in June. Last PSL, Rossouw finished as the third-highest run-getter with 453 runs from 11 innings at an average of 45.30 and a strike rate of 171.59.