Hong Kong confirm new cricket captain after Nizakat Khan steps down to focus on own game
Head coach backs ‘empathetic’ new skipper Yasim Murtaza, who takes over ahead of February’s crucial Challenge League competition
Yasim Murtaza has been appointed the new Hong Kong cricket captain, after Nizakat Khan stepped down after more than three years in the role.
Nizakat’s last competition as skipper was November’s Challenge League in Uganda, where Hong Kong won three and drew one of their five matches. The top-order batsman had a top score of 40 from his five innings in East Africa, after travelling directly from the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, where Nizakat’s exceptional hitting was one of the highlights of the tournament.
Head coach Simon Willis said the 32-year-old had chosen to resign from the captaincy “because he wants to concentrate on his own game and contribute to the team winning from a personal point of view”.
Nizakat, who made his Hong Kong debut in 2011, was named skipper in August 2021. He was at the helm when Hong Kong were eliminated from 2026 T20 World Cup qualifying this year, after Hong Kong finished third in the 2024 ACC Premier Cup.
Englishman Willis, who took over in March 2023, said: “I have worked closely with Nizakat for 18 months and seen how much commitment he invested in the role. We’ve recently had some big tournaments and you could tell he took everything 100 per cent on board.
“He has a young family and wants a breather after [captaining] for a long time. When he had time to review, he, maybe, thought that if you are taking [professional] issues home with you, it’s not fair on the family.”
