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Pakistan captain Babar Azam speaking in post-series presser:
About the lessons learned from this series:
“We have partially achieved our plan. There have been three injuries, including those to Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and Irfan Khan. You have observed a rotation in batting. We have attempted to experiment with different combinations. We have utilized various bowlers in the first six overs. All of this was planned before the series, considering which player can benefit us in different situations or under pressure, how they are behaving, and how they will perform. We have taken note of these factors. There are some positive signs as well, but it doesn’t mean that we will ignore the mistakes we have made. We will try to correct our mistakes as soon as possible; the sooner, the better for us because the World Cup is near. The combination that will play in the World Cup will be chosen with an effort to do what is best for the team.”
About Shaheen Shah Afridi and rotation policy:
“I had said before that Shaheen Shah Afridi is the best bowler and he knows how to make a comeback. Bad days do come, but he is mentally strong and whatever he does with dedication is evident to everyone. He is a fighter, and the way he has made a comeback and given us wickets at crucial times, I, as a captain, am happy with such performances. Unfortunately, you have seen that Mohammad Rizwan has become unfit. Our plan was to rotate, but we know that we are struggling in the middle overs. You have seen that we have sometimes sent Shadab Khan up the order, and sometimes Iftikhar Ahmed, we have given Usman Khan a proper opportunity to consolidate. However, our main concern is the middle order. We have made changes up and will keep on doing”
About Usman Khan :
"You have to give players a margin. When you come into the team, there is pressure, but he has tried his best. Whenever a player makes his debut, after the innings, you try to stabilize a bit and start your innings, but he showed intent which was required. Performing or not performing is not in anyone’s hands, he was very good.”
About fielding:
“We will also work on our fielding, there is quite an improvement, but we will have to work harder on this thing."
"As a captain, I am not satisfied with the result of the series. There are no excuses. Yes, we've youngsters in the squad but we should have played better cricket. We lack in the fielding a bit which is important to address."
About not being able to reach 200 runs in the whole series:
“The average score in Lahore was 190. In Rawalpindi, you could say that the average score was over 200, as we saw in the PSL. However, the situation and pitch can change from time to time. You can’t always go out and score runs. You try, but after five or six overs, you realize what the best score could be on that pitch. So, we plan accordingly. When the wicket was good, we also scored 200 and also chased it sometimes. But I believe that in all three matches, throughout the series, we scored fewer runs in batting. I don’t deny this, but we will work on it. We do have power hitters like Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed. We really missed Azam Khan in the series. He brings a lot of power in the middle order and he has the ability to change the game.”
"I am not here to please anyone. When we rotate our players then we get criticism. If we don't rest players we are still criticized. So all of you should pray for everyone because we cannot please everybody with our decisions."
About scoring runs in different phases of the match:
“If you score more than 50 in the power play, I think that’s good. However, we are struggling from the seventh over to the tenth. It’s not that we are struggling in the power play; we are making 30-35 runs from the seventh to the tenth over. You could also say that we are short by five to ten runs. After that, if you are at 100 in ten overs, then in the next ten overs, you try to make 90 to 100 runs when the wicket is in hand. We are making more than 50 runs in the power play, but we are also losing wickets. We have even scored more than 60, but we have also lost wickets. We are also struggling due to consecutive wickets falling. We will try to address this. In the end, we try to execute our power-hitting plan in the last five overs.”
About Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir:
“The way they have performed and are bowling is known to everyone. In this team, it’s not that anyone’s position is fixed. Even today, you see that we have utilized 8 bowlers because the condition demanded it. We take this into account. We used spinners after six overs because the batter was struggling at that time. It’s not that we get full overs from any one bowler. Like in the last match, Shadab Khan didn’t bowl, but in this match, he got two overs. Usama Mir bowled well so he bowled all his overs. It depends on the situation and the way Mohammad Amir, he also bowled well. He is quite an experienced bowler, he knows how to bowl. It was a bad day for him, so no problem. I have no doubt about his experience. There is still a lot of time to finalize the World Cup team, and we still have seven to eight matches left.”
About Saim Ayub:
"Saim Ayub is extremely talented. The way he changes the game in the first six overs is commendable. He's struggling but I feel he just needs one innings to get going. Sometimes you need to give some extra time to special talents like him. Hopefully, he will do well in the future."
About the lessons learned from this series:
“We have partially achieved our plan. There have been three injuries, including those to Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and Irfan Khan. You have observed a rotation in batting. We have attempted to experiment with different combinations. We have utilized various bowlers in the first six overs. All of this was planned before the series, considering which player can benefit us in different situations or under pressure, how they are behaving, and how they will perform. We have taken note of these factors. There are some positive signs as well, but it doesn’t mean that we will ignore the mistakes we have made. We will try to correct our mistakes as soon as possible; the sooner, the better for us because the World Cup is near. The combination that will play in the World Cup will be chosen with an effort to do what is best for the team.”
About Shaheen Shah Afridi and rotation policy:
“I had said before that Shaheen Shah Afridi is the best bowler and he knows how to make a comeback. Bad days do come, but he is mentally strong and whatever he does with dedication is evident to everyone. He is a fighter, and the way he has made a comeback and given us wickets at crucial times, I, as a captain, am happy with such performances. Unfortunately, you have seen that Mohammad Rizwan has become unfit. Our plan was to rotate, but we know that we are struggling in the middle overs. You have seen that we have sometimes sent Shadab Khan up the order, and sometimes Iftikhar Ahmed, we have given Usman Khan a proper opportunity to consolidate. However, our main concern is the middle order. We have made changes up and will keep on doing”
About Usman Khan :
"You have to give players a margin. When you come into the team, there is pressure, but he has tried his best. Whenever a player makes his debut, after the innings, you try to stabilize a bit and start your innings, but he showed intent which was required. Performing or not performing is not in anyone’s hands, he was very good.”
About fielding:
“We will also work on our fielding, there is quite an improvement, but we will have to work harder on this thing."
"As a captain, I am not satisfied with the result of the series. There are no excuses. Yes, we've youngsters in the squad but we should have played better cricket. We lack in the fielding a bit which is important to address."
About not being able to reach 200 runs in the whole series:
“The average score in Lahore was 190. In Rawalpindi, you could say that the average score was over 200, as we saw in the PSL. However, the situation and pitch can change from time to time. You can’t always go out and score runs. You try, but after five or six overs, you realize what the best score could be on that pitch. So, we plan accordingly. When the wicket was good, we also scored 200 and also chased it sometimes. But I believe that in all three matches, throughout the series, we scored fewer runs in batting. I don’t deny this, but we will work on it. We do have power hitters like Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed. We really missed Azam Khan in the series. He brings a lot of power in the middle order and he has the ability to change the game.”
"I am not here to please anyone. When we rotate our players then we get criticism. If we don't rest players we are still criticized. So all of you should pray for everyone because we cannot please everybody with our decisions."
About scoring runs in different phases of the match:
“If you score more than 50 in the power play, I think that’s good. However, we are struggling from the seventh over to the tenth. It’s not that we are struggling in the power play; we are making 30-35 runs from the seventh to the tenth over. You could also say that we are short by five to ten runs. After that, if you are at 100 in ten overs, then in the next ten overs, you try to make 90 to 100 runs when the wicket is in hand. We are making more than 50 runs in the power play, but we are also losing wickets. We have even scored more than 60, but we have also lost wickets. We are also struggling due to consecutive wickets falling. We will try to address this. In the end, we try to execute our power-hitting plan in the last five overs.”
About Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir:
“The way they have performed and are bowling is known to everyone. In this team, it’s not that anyone’s position is fixed. Even today, you see that we have utilized 8 bowlers because the condition demanded it. We take this into account. We used spinners after six overs because the batter was struggling at that time. It’s not that we get full overs from any one bowler. Like in the last match, Shadab Khan didn’t bowl, but in this match, he got two overs. Usama Mir bowled well so he bowled all his overs. It depends on the situation and the way Mohammad Amir, he also bowled well. He is quite an experienced bowler, he knows how to bowl. It was a bad day for him, so no problem. I have no doubt about his experience. There is still a lot of time to finalize the World Cup team, and we still have seven to eight matches left.”
About Saim Ayub:
"Saim Ayub is extremely talented. The way he changes the game in the first six overs is commendable. He's struggling but I feel he just needs one innings to get going. Sometimes you need to give some extra time to special talents like him. Hopefully, he will do well in the future."
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