- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,991
Azhar Ali speaking to the media:
"Its good that South Africa have come to Pakistan after such a long time; Every team likes to perform in their homeground and most importantly, its good for the newer cricketers also as they will have better chances to perform at home as they have already been playing in the domestic season"
"Players always play with confidence at home as we have shown in the previous home series; But even if you look at the series against England and New Zealand, someone has always made a century; So if we look at the 1st Test in NZ, Fawad made a hundred, whilst I came close to one in the 2nd Test; And in the series against England, we had centuries scored in it as well from our players; I do not think we are far behind as conditions in England and New Zealand have always been tough for Asian batsmen but our players have fought their way in those circumstances; I am sure we could have done better in NZ but we didnt but I have faith in our batting line up (for this series)"
"Mohammad Yousuf is working with us and sharing his experience also, so its upto us to make use of that; I am hoping that with Babar Azam back in the line-up we will perform well in this series"
"South Africa is a strong team - they have a good mix of fast-bowlers and also have a good spin attack in the shape of Keshav Maharaj who has been with the side for a long time, and is a consistent performer; If a spinning track is made then we will have to bring our A game against him as a he is a seasoned performer; So I feel it will be a big challenge batting against a top quality bowling side."
"There is always a challenge for a new player to handle the pressure of international cricket; There are insecurities also at play which is part of our culture, as the player feels that he will not be able to comeback to the side if he doesnt perform well; Also there is a big difference between domestic and international cricket which can cause some issues"
"The tours of England and New Zealand were tough for us, especially when you take into account the COVID-19 situation; Now the PCB have allowed us to have our families together but even they are finding out how difficult it is to live in one room, to not being allowed to come out of a bubble - all these are challenges for everyone"
"But it wont be right to make these into excuses, and we have to look at the positive side of this situation and be satisfied with the fact that we are at least playing international cricket"
"The real challenge during these situations is to keep oneself motivated; In New Zealand, the time spent in quarantine was very tough where we couldnt practice, run or do other gym work; So it was very tough to keep ourselves motivated"
"Any player who performs in your domestic structure should be valued and that is the case in the team selection for this series"
"We have a habit of praising and raising players on a pedestal if they do well, but also dont take too long in bringing them down (if they falter) which is part of our culture which should change although I have no idea when that will happen"
"Its good that South Africa have come to Pakistan after such a long time; Every team likes to perform in their homeground and most importantly, its good for the newer cricketers also as they will have better chances to perform at home as they have already been playing in the domestic season"
"Players always play with confidence at home as we have shown in the previous home series; But even if you look at the series against England and New Zealand, someone has always made a century; So if we look at the 1st Test in NZ, Fawad made a hundred, whilst I came close to one in the 2nd Test; And in the series against England, we had centuries scored in it as well from our players; I do not think we are far behind as conditions in England and New Zealand have always been tough for Asian batsmen but our players have fought their way in those circumstances; I am sure we could have done better in NZ but we didnt but I have faith in our batting line up (for this series)"
"Mohammad Yousuf is working with us and sharing his experience also, so its upto us to make use of that; I am hoping that with Babar Azam back in the line-up we will perform well in this series"
"South Africa is a strong team - they have a good mix of fast-bowlers and also have a good spin attack in the shape of Keshav Maharaj who has been with the side for a long time, and is a consistent performer; If a spinning track is made then we will have to bring our A game against him as a he is a seasoned performer; So I feel it will be a big challenge batting against a top quality bowling side."
"There is always a challenge for a new player to handle the pressure of international cricket; There are insecurities also at play which is part of our culture, as the player feels that he will not be able to comeback to the side if he doesnt perform well; Also there is a big difference between domestic and international cricket which can cause some issues"
"The tours of England and New Zealand were tough for us, especially when you take into account the COVID-19 situation; Now the PCB have allowed us to have our families together but even they are finding out how difficult it is to live in one room, to not being allowed to come out of a bubble - all these are challenges for everyone"
"But it wont be right to make these into excuses, and we have to look at the positive side of this situation and be satisfied with the fact that we are at least playing international cricket"
"The real challenge during these situations is to keep oneself motivated; In New Zealand, the time spent in quarantine was very tough where we couldnt practice, run or do other gym work; So it was very tough to keep ourselves motivated"
"Any player who performs in your domestic structure should be valued and that is the case in the team selection for this series"
"We have a habit of praising and raising players on a pedestal if they do well, but also dont take too long in bringing them down (if they falter) which is part of our culture which should change although I have no idea when that will happen"
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