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[VIDEO] “I have sacrificed a lot and learnt how to play in difficult conditions" : Babar Azam

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[VIDEO] “I have sacrificed a lot and learnt how to play in difficult conditions" : Babar Azam

Babar Azam speaking to the media:

“We have gained a lot of confidence from the first Test and we know we have to play the 2nd Test with the same intensity that we played with in the series opener”

“We cannot take South Africa easy as they are fully capable of bouncing back, but we are ready for that”

“The wicket in Rawalpindi is looking similar to the one in Karachi, but the weather and conditions are different”

“I have really enjoyed the experience of captaincy and I am thankful to the boys for their fightback, and for not taking things easy and for supporting me. Captaincy becomes easy when the players support you and follow the team plans”

“I play every match as if it was my last match, and I would like to perform well so that it helps my side win as that is the only performance that counts; My request to all is to continue backing the team and not just me, and with their prayers we will do well in this Test as well”

“Saud Shakeel has been performing well in domestic tournaments, he can play spin; Abdullah Shafique is a sound batsman but given there is a difference between domestic and international cricket, we are trying to explain to him that he should not panic as there is a lot of pressure in international cricket; He is being told about how to adjust and have a plan A and plan B against bowlers”

“Overall the morale of the team is very good and they are full of confidence – even though we lost early wickets in Karachi, I will give credit to Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam who built a good partnership in that situation and showed the value of experience”

“I have worked hard and sacrificed a lot, and performed well, and learnt how to play in difficult conditions; I never relax after one good performance but try and perform in a consistence basis; I always look back at my previous performances and see how I can improve on it and how I can do better in the future”

“In terms of team combination, you never know what conditions we will get in the morning"
 
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Sacraficed playing attacking shots unnecessarily, play the situation not the ball.
 
Hopefully he’s not speaking of sacrificing his wicket to allow Fawad and Azhar to save the Test match again.
 
Mamoon said:
Sacrificed what? Bizarre choice of words.
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Speaking about his career - in response to a question about what he would attribute to his success
 
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He has been under PCB’s wing since 12-13 and has had access to NCA coaches right from the beginning of his career because his cousin was Pakistan’s main WK when he started playing cricket.

He was given the chance to be a ball boy in the 2007 Lahore Test vs South Africa when thousands of other boys his age would have loved the opportunity.

He has come through the PCB system at every level without any hiccups and has been entrusted with captaincy since his U-19 days.

He had full backing from his family and had the opportunity to fully focus on his cricket from day one. He didn’t have to do side jobs to earn money because his parents were using their savings to support his cricket career.

He got the chance to play for Pakistan at the age of 20, never got dropped from any format and is now captaining the team in all formats by the age of 26.

That is some “sacrifice”. He is one of the most privileged cricketers Pakistan has ever had. He is blessed with a lot of natural ability and he has had all the opportunities to succeed from the first day and never had to fight the system or fight for his career.

This is no sacrifice. Other cricketers have had a much, much tougher time with a lot of odds stacked against them.

They had to fight poverty, they had to cope with family opposition, they had to do side jobs to support their families as well as their careers and they didn’t have easy access to the system because their relatives were not playing for Pakistan.

Sure he worked very hard, but when you are blessed with a lot of ability and do not have to deal with other constraints and distractions that so many others have to do, you don’t really deserve any special adulation for working hard.

Babar would have been an Umar Akmal level fool if he did not work hard, considering he had all the natural ability and the facilities required to succeed. Umar had the same and he threw it away, at least Babar is smarter than him.
 
Mamoon said:
He has been under PCB’s wing since 12-13 and has had access to NCA coaches right from the beginning of his career because his cousin was Pakistan’s main WK when he started playing cricket.

He was given the chance to be a ball boy in the 2007 Lahore Test vs South Africa when thousands of other boys his age would have loved the opportunity.

He has come through the PCB system at every level without any hiccups and has been entrusted with captaincy since his U-19 days.

He had full backing from his family and had the opportunity to fully focus on his cricket from day one. He didn’t have to do side jobs to earn money because his parents were using their savings to support his cricket career.

He got the chance to play for Pakistan at the age of 20, never got dropped from any format and is now captaining the team in all formats by the age of 26.

That is some “sacrifice”. He is one of the most privileged cricketers Pakistan has ever had. He is blessed with a lot of natural ability and he has had all the opportunities to succeed from the first day and never had to fight the system or fight for his career.

This is no sacrifice. Other cricketers have had a much, much tougher time with a lot of odds stacked against them.

They had to fight poverty, they had to cope with family opposition, they had to do side jobs to support their families as well as their careers and they didn’t have easy access to the system because their relatives were not playing for Pakistan.

Sure he worked very hard, but when you are blessed with a lot of ability and do not have to deal with other constraints and distractions that so many others have to do, you don’t really deserve any special adulation for working hard.

Babar would have been an Umar Akmal level fool if he did not work hard, considering he had all the natural ability and the facilities required to succeed. Umar had the same and he threw it away, at least Babar is smarter than him.
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Completely agree.
 
Mamoon said:
He has been under PCB’s wing since 12-13 and has had access to NCA coaches right from the beginning of his career because his cousin was Pakistan’s main WK when he started playing cricket.

He was given the chance to be a ball boy in the 2007 Lahore Test vs South Africa when thousands of other boys his age would have loved the opportunity.

He has come through the PCB system at every level without any hiccups and has been entrusted with captaincy since his U-19 days.

He had full backing from his family and had the opportunity to fully focus on his cricket from day one. He didn’t have to do side jobs to earn money because his parents were using their savings to support his cricket career.

He got the chance to play for Pakistan at the age of 20, never got dropped from any format and is now captaining the team in all formats by the age of 26.

That is some “sacrifice”. He is one of the most privileged cricketers Pakistan has ever had. He is blessed with a lot of natural ability and he has had all the opportunities to succeed from the first day and never had to fight the system or fight for his career.

This is no sacrifice. Other cricketers have had a much, much tougher time with a lot of odds stacked against them.

They had to fight poverty, they had to cope with family opposition, they had to do side jobs to support their families as well as their careers and they didn’t have easy access to the system because their relatives were not playing for Pakistan.

Sure he worked very hard, but when you are blessed with a lot of ability and do not have to deal with other constraints and distractions that so many others have to do, you don’t really deserve any special adulation for working hard.

Babar would have been an Umar Akmal level fool if he did not work hard, considering he had all the natural ability and the facilities required to succeed. Umar had the same and he threw it away, at least Babar is smarter than him.
Click to expand...

By that yardstick did Tendulkar made any sacrifices. He was well supported by his middle class family and then came to limelight pretty early.
I think what Babar meant was lot of hard work with sacrifices like not doing things which normal kid would do and practicing a lot.
 
I don't get the sacrificed part and what he's trying to say.
 
For once I agree with Mamoon...

Not sure in what context he used the word "sacrifice".

It seems to be a common trait in personalities from Pakistan, from politicians to sportsmen.

They seem to be making loads of money, whilst hailinh from priviliged backgrounds, have a head start in comparison to the other 22 million populous...but keep bringing this word "sacrifice" quite a bit into public domain.

Yes you did Babar. And?

You seem to have achieved quite a bit through sacrifices...so dig it bro!

Now, if you were still trudging along to Gaddafi Stadium on your battered old Honda 70 or beating the Lahore heat whilst your dad's well earned pension is going to waste on rikshaw fares or may be the "chullah" in your house is not quite as vibrant as it should be...may be your parents can earn the right to use the word "sacrifice"!...

But you?...No.
 
hoshiarpurexpress said:
By that yardstick did Tendulkar made any sacrifices. He was well supported by his middle class family and then came to limelight pretty early.
I think what Babar meant was lot of hard work with sacrifices like not doing things which normal kid would do and practicing a lot.
Click to expand...

Of course he didn’t either. Tendulkar had immense support as well. He was blessed with out of this world ability but he also had the right environment and support system around him.

Success in sports is not just about talent and hard work but also but luck and circumstances. A young cricketer might have the same level of talent as Sachin and he might be willing to work hard but if he has to spend half of his day earning money for his family by selling fruits and vegetables, he will probably not make it.
 
Who knows what sacrifices he has had to make in his personal life, all information does not come into the spotlight.
 
MenInG said:
“Saud Shakeel has been performing well in domestic tournaments, he can play spin; Abdullah Shafique is a sound batsman but given there is a difference between domestic and international cricket, we are trying to explain to him that he should not panic as there is a lot of pressure in international cricket; He is being told about how to adjust and have a plan A and plan B against bowlers”
Click to expand...

While we dont want to keep changing the openers but, at the same time would like to see Saud Shakeel's development at international level start as he is one of the better young batsman we have produced in last few years and can play for Pakistan for sometime if he transitions to international cricket well.

Good that some work is being done with Abdullah as well behind the scenes as not many cricketers have had this sort of roller coaster ride at the start that he has been on for the last few months.
 
Mamoon said:
He has been under PCB’s wing since 12-13 and has had access to NCA coaches right from the beginning of his career because his cousin was Pakistan’s main WK when he started playing cricket.

He was given the chance to be a ball boy in the 2007 Lahore Test vs South Africa when thousands of other boys his age would have loved the opportunity.

He has come through the PCB system at every level without any hiccups and has been entrusted with captaincy since his U-19 days.

He had full backing from his family and had the opportunity to fully focus on his cricket from day one. He didn’t have to do side jobs to earn money because his parents were using their savings to support his cricket career.

He got the chance to play for Pakistan at the age of 20, never got dropped from any format and is now captaining the team in all formats by the age of 26.

That is some “sacrifice”. He is one of the most privileged cricketers Pakistan has ever had. He is blessed with a lot of natural ability and he has had all the opportunities to succeed from the first day and never had to fight the system or fight for his career.

This is no sacrifice. Other cricketers have had a much, much tougher time with a lot of odds stacked against them.

They had to fight poverty, they had to cope with family opposition, they had to do side jobs to support their families as well as their careers and they didn’t have easy access to the system because their relatives were not playing for Pakistan.

Sure he worked very hard, but when you are blessed with a lot of ability and do not have to deal with other constraints and distractions that so many others have to do, you don’t really deserve any special adulation for working hard.

Babar would have been an Umar Akmal level fool if he did not work hard, considering he had all the natural ability and the facilities required to succeed. Umar had the same and he threw it away, at least Babar is smarter than him.
Click to expand...

I am sure every elite sportsman sacrifices a lot (leisure, a normal teen life that they will never get back etc.). For that matter, a Federer probably thinks he has sacrificed a lot as well. Sure, people from more humble backgrounds endure more hardships and sacrifice more. But doesn't take away from what Babar may have endured to become Pakistan's best batsman.
 
Too many experts here ready to judge Babar for his choice of words without even knowing anything about his background and personal life.

It's ridiculous to say the least.
 
Mamoon said:
He has been under PCB’s wing since 12-13 and has had access to NCA coaches right from the beginning of his career because his cousin was Pakistan’s main WK when he started playing cricket.

He was given the chance to be a ball boy in the 2007 Lahore Test vs South Africa when thousands of other boys his age would have loved the opportunity.

He has come through the PCB system at every level without any hiccups and has been entrusted with captaincy since his U-19 days.

He had full backing from his family and had the opportunity to fully focus on his cricket from day one. He didn’t have to do side jobs to earn money because his parents were using their savings to support his cricket career.

He got the chance to play for Pakistan at the age of 20, never got dropped from any format and is now captaining the team in all formats by the age of 26.

That is some “sacrifice”. He is one of the most privileged cricketers Pakistan has ever had. He is blessed with a lot of natural ability and he has had all the opportunities to succeed from the first day and never had to fight the system or fight for his career.

This is no sacrifice. Other cricketers have had a much, much tougher time with a lot of odds stacked against them.

They had to fight poverty, they had to cope with family opposition, they had to do side jobs to support their families as well as their careers and they didn’t have easy access to the system because their relatives were not playing for Pakistan.

Sure he worked very hard, but when you are blessed with a lot of ability and do not have to deal with other constraints and distractions that so many others have to do, you don’t really deserve any special adulation for working hard.

Babar would have been an Umar Akmal level fool if he did not work hard, considering he had all the natural ability and the facilities required to succeed. Umar had the same and he threw it away, at least Babar is smarter than him.
Click to expand...

All the help and support apart even the great Sachin once said he sacrificed a lot throughout his childhood to become a cricketer. Sachin specifically mentioned things like being able to play other sports or spending the day doing nothing. I don’t think you or I know what Babar’s childhood was like so no need to trash the guy for making whatever sacrifices he thinks he did. Despite of how small they maybe. Quit this dumb Pakistani mentality of thinking the other person hasn’t done enough just because others have it tougher in the country. Seriously.
 
Mamoon said:
Of course he didn’t either. Tendulkar had immense support as well. He was blessed with out of this world ability but he also had the right environment and support system around him.

Success in sports is not just about talent and hard work but also but luck and circumstances. A young cricketer might have the same level of talent as Sachin and he might be willing to work hard but if he has to spend half of his day earning money for his family by selling fruits and vegetables, he will probably not make it.
Click to expand...

There are a few who do. I am sure you have read about Yasasvi Jaiswal, I can not explain in words how much respect I have for this kid. Incredible tale of overcoming all odds through sheer will power and hard work.
 
sshakir411 said:
All the help and support apart even the great Sachin once said he sacrificed a lot throughout his childhood to become a cricketer. Sachin specifically mentioned things like being able to play other sports or spending the day doing nothing. I don’t think you or I know what Babar’s childhood was like so no need to trash the guy for making whatever sacrifices he thinks he did. Despite of how small they maybe. Quit this dumb Pakistani mentality of thinking the other person hasn’t done enough just because others have it tougher in the country. Seriously.
Click to expand...

No, I do know how his childhood was like.

It must be very tough to be chosen as a ball boy in the Lahore Test in 2007 ahead of thousands of other Lahori kids who would have loved to have that opportunity and experience as well.

It must also be very tough to have your cousin as an international cricketer when you are beginning your cricket career.

It must also be very tough to have access to NCA coaches and be part of the PCB system since the age of 12-13 instead of going from pillar to post like others playing in order to get noticed by PCB coaches.

It must be very hard for Tendulkar to not play other sports or spend his day “doing nothing” when he was playing Test cricket for India at the age of 16 :91:.

An honor and a privilege that is dreamed by billions of kids in India and he was living it at 16.

I am comfortable to judge that privileged people like Tendulkar and Babar talking about “sacrifice” is quite rich and ironic. Clearly, they don’t know what real sacrifice looks like.

You are of course free to judge me for judging them. That is not my problem.
 
Hyperion66 said:
There are a few who do. I am sure you have read about Yasasvi Jaiswal, I can not explain in words how much respect I have for this kid. Incredible tale of overcoming all odds through sheer will power and hard work.
Click to expand...

Yes I have read his story, and this is what real sacrifice looks like. I was very impressed with his batting in the U-19 WC last year and I was even more impressed when I read about his struggles.
 
Mamoon said:
Clearly, they don’t know what real sacrifice looks like.
Click to expand...

And somehow you do? Clearly, your ability to own a computer and know English shows you’re way too privileged to talk about “real sacrifice”.
 
Sacrifice and struggle are relative.

What appears like sacrifice for one person will seem like a privilege for another.

What Babar said isn't wrong but you don't talk about sacrifices in a surrounding where others have had to face harder circumstances.

Odd statement but nothing much to see here since Babar has a good head on his shoulders.
 
Depends which Urdu word was interpreted to Sacrifice. Pretty sure he didn't say sacrifice in English. He could have meant something totally different.
 
The sacrifice comment sounded like he meant it tandem with the previous sentence, i.e., doing a lot of hard work. For hard work, you do have to make sacrifices.
 
Shaddy86 said:
Depends which Urdu word was interpreted to Sacrifice. Pretty sure he didn't say sacrifice in English. He could have meant something totally different.
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<iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/8k3kzq?loop=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>.
 
I made a lot of sacrifices too, waking up all night to watch those pathetic performances in the Test series in New Zealand :)
 
Abdullah719 said:
The sacrifice comment sounded like he meant it tandem with the previous sentence, i.e., doing a lot of hard work. For hard work, you do have to make sacrifices.
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You could say that but he did say I made sacrifices - its possible he did use that word without knowing its full meaning but qurbaniyan can mean many things (for different people)

The quotes are verbatim and we dont try and second guess the context - up to others to do that.
 
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Saj said:
I made a lot of sacrifices too, waking up all night to watch those pathetic performances in the Test series in New Zealand :)
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But have you sacrificed as much as a Bangladeshi fan:) Just kiddin!
 
Most cricketers if not all sacrifice on their education especially in Pakistan. They're only left with cricket or nothing but I don't think Babar had that issue, especially when his cousins were able to earn a good living in cricket. May be had to sacrifice on that gf of his because of cricket.

After watching that video above it just seems like a random comment most paksirsnis with victim mentality would say. There's no meaning to it.
 
Too much importance given to his language and choice of words. He might not have studied or practiced enough to speak. But that’s ok

As long as he speaks with the bat and leads as a good captain winning series after series.

I hope he doesn’t take any pressure on speaking in front of the public and media. His cover drives can shut many doors. Keep going Babar.
 
Mamoon said:
No, I do know how his childhood was like.

It must be very tough to be chosen as a ball boy in the Lahore Test in 2007 ahead of thousands of other Lahori kids who would have loved to have that opportunity and experience as well.

It must also be very tough to have your cousin as an international cricketer when you are beginning your cricket career.

It must also be very tough to have access to NCA coaches and be part of the PCB system since the age of 12-13 instead of going from pillar to post like others playing in order to get noticed by PCB coaches.

It must be very hard for Tendulkar to not play other sports or spend his day “doing nothing” when he was playing Test cricket for India at the age of 16 :91:.

An honor and a privilege that is dreamed by billions of kids in India and he was living it at 16.

I am comfortable to judge that privileged people like Tendulkar and Babar talking about “sacrifice” is quite rich and ironic. Clearly, they don’t know what real sacrifice looks like.

You are of course free to judge me for judging them. That is not my problem.
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Wasn't there a rift between Akmal's and Babar's families.

I don't think he got any favours due to him being Akmals cousin, he has achieved it all on his own.
 
Any international level sportsman will have to sacrifice a lot on things that a normal person takes for granted. Food, friends, relaxing, holidaying are just a few examples. Every step, sacrifice is involved. I think that is what he is referring to.
 
Ashmal said:
Wasn't there a rift between Akmal's and Babar's families.

I don't think he got any favours due to him being Akmals cousin, he has achieved it all on his own.
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Yes, they are not on good terms. Babar has always tried to be silent and reticent whenever an interviewer has mentioned the Akmal brothers.

In fact babar could not even play for Lahore for a good while and had to travel to Islamabad and represented their team in domestic competitions.
He never had it easy contrary to what a certain agenda pushing aunty is telling everyone.
 
All he said that he sacrificed few things nothing wrong with that. He didn't say he sacrificed a lot as the translation make out to be.
 
Babar knows who Saud Shakeel is - which makes me happy as I am pretty sure Misbah and company would have no idea about him even if he were in the last 16.
 
Babar is a legend!

He's going to score a big 100 tomorrow.
 
Corridor of Uncertainty said:
Babar knows who Saud Shakeel is - which makes me happy as I am pretty sure Misbah and company would have no idea about him even if he were in the last 16.
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Saud’s in the same dressing room and does practice with the rest. Btw he’s in the last 16 too.

And Babar knows Saud from his age group/Pakistan A days.
 
Just saw an interview he was giving on Inzamam's channel

Babar mentioned that when he got selected for u15 he needed a pair of cricket shoes so he asked his cousins (he didnt mention which cousin), but his cousin didn't give him shoes by saying he didnt had any.
Babar said it was at that point i realized that it was my mistake and bewakoofi to have asked for shoes and made it his goals from that day to never ask others for anything and be able to provide for himself
 
He’s sacrificed Jack all!

Sacrifice your opening spot in T20i and let a power hitting opener occupy that spot. Then bat at 3 or 4 and show us how to control the innings like Kohli, Root and Williamson do. Only then will your hollow words make sense!
 
Ashmal said:
Wasn't there a rift between Akmal's and Babar's families.

I don't think he got any favours due to him being Akmals cousin, he has achieved it all on his own.
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He once told Inzi that he got selected for Pak u-19 and asked his cousins for an old pair of boots, but they refused saying they didnt have any.

So how is there a case of nepotism, sifarish? The Akmals have never helped him with his cricketing.
 
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