Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,826
Azhar Ali at a press conference today after returning from Australia:
"It was a disappointing series for us in Australia. We are a proud cricket nation and our pride is hurt by these losses"
"Two innings defeats in Australia are not acceptable and there are no excuses for that"
"I believe we did our best preparation and went with positive intent but unfortunately sometimes, results aren't according to your expectations"
"The way we picked a young bowling attack and won the toss and batted in the 1st Test showed a lot of intent from us, but unfortunately we were playing catch up. When we played well, we couldn't capitalise on that and when you don't avail your opportunities in Australia, it's not easy to make a comeback"
"Some positives from this tour, Babar Azam played brilliantly and Rizwan played well. The batsmen showed they can make runs in Australia"
"Our bowling attack was young and it couldn't perform according to expectations, but still, the world is talking about them, that they have pace. With a bit more experience, they have a great future for Pakistan"
"The players fought despite being behind in the match, if you look at the 2nd innings scores, we fought but unfortunately, it's difficult when you fall behind the game in Australia"
"A few things we need to work on. As batsmen, we are getting starts but we aren't developing match-winning partnerships. Batsmen who made runs couldn't convert that into match-winning innings. We couldn't take new ball wickets which is important in Australia, we couldn't control the run-rate so these are a few things we need to focus on in the series against SL"
"It's a great thing for us that there is a Test match in Pakistan after 10 years with SL bringing their full side. We will have to play very good cricket to defeat SL and we will try our best in between to freshen our minds and get back on track for the Test Championship"
"The bowling attack is young and has shown promise. Naseem Shah bowled well in 1st Test and showed that he has a bright future. Shaheen Shah has improved, he was bowling with consistency. He did a lot of work on his fitness and on his bowling. It doesn't look good in the wickets column but there is promise showing and they will be much better in the near future"
"It's not that the ball isn't coming onto my bat or that I'm struggling at the crease, or my feet aren't moving. I am aware that I need to score runs, all the players, captain or others at this level, nobody can survive with performances and I realise that and I'm working hard. I'm feeling good in the nets and in the match also"
"When someone is batting at 6 rpo in a Test match then no matter how aggressive you are, you have to come on the back foot a bit and wait for a wicket. You have to try different things when a partnership is formed"
"We thought of our best combination in the first Test where I would open because we had a performing middle order but Haris was struggling a bit so we gave a chance to Imam. It's not a problem for me to open or #3"
"If you look at any team, you will see 2-3 players with knee problems. It's true that since I had this knee problem, my form hasn't been the same but you can't say it's only because of that. I pass all the fitness tests, I take part in training sessions, I sprint while batting so I don't think that it's because of the injury. Sometimes your form or luck doesn't allow you to to make runs. Many players have knee surgeries and continue playing. If there are any fitness issues, PCB's medical staff will determine that"
"Regarding reports that I am going to settle down in England: Senior journalists should try to confirm news before saying it on TV. If someone says such things on TV about someone's personal life, it should be authentic. My son was studying in England since 3 years and I even brought him back to Pakistan. I don't have any business or anything outside Pakistan. I had a 1 year contract with Somerset which is finished now and I don't know of any future contracts at the moment. So before spreading such news, people should confirm it"
"We had clear plans against Warner but we are guilty of not executing the plans properly in the 1st match. We allowed him to gain confidence and he's such a player that when he's confident, he bats well. We hit our plans in the 2nd Test but he countered them easily. In the 1st Test, he was on 150 and we executed our plans so he made only 2 runs in 1 hour. Sometimes you plan but you fail to execute"
"As a batting unit, we need to think about our shot selection which wasn't so good. We were even batting well at times and collapsed. So we have to realise that if we have a partnership, we need to prolong it, or build a new partnership if a wicket has fallen. We had sessions where we lost wickets in clumps and the manner of losing wickets, I think our shot selection wasn't very good"
"When I accepted captaincy, I considered everything and I said that I will have a different mindset this time. I will try to implement my plan and there is no element of worrying about my captaincy going or me being removed from the team"
"This is Pakistan's team, if you can't perform as a player, how long can you survive in the team? And same if you can't perform as a captain. So I am not worried about these things. I am confident and have confidence in my team that we are going to go forward positively. We need to develop a culture in the team where the fear factor goes away. The more you think about being dropped etc., the more it affects you"
"We have talked about selection and the team will be announced tomorrow"
"I played 5 FC matches this year, I saw almost all the teams and saw their batting and bowling. When we selected a team for Aus, we considered everything and selected the best possible bowling attack which we felt can perform at international level currently, and similarly with batsmen. Domestic cricket is very important, and we also have to look at the requirements for international cricket. We have to judge whether players are ready for the international level or not. Sometimes you have less options so you have to take risks, sometimes you have many options and you take the best one"
"I have only heard of one captain who picked the team according to his own wishes and that was Imran Khan. Now things have changed, there is a selection committee and a process. We discuss things in meetings"
"Yasir has been our #1 bowler and has won us a lot of Tests in the last 5 years. Spinners never find it easy in Australia, even Lyon didn't get wickets till the last innings. Yes he has better control because he is used to those conditions. Not picking up new ball wickets is a big factor because you can't build pressure on the other team"
"We thought Yasir will be effective at Adelaide because the ball was turning but they attacked him and he was under pressure throughout. Sometimes if you're struggling, you can get support from the other end which helps you to get in a good frame of mind again but unfortunately we couldn't take wickets at any time to put them under pressure"
"My performances weren't good here or in SA. The conditions in SA are different, they are tough for batsmen but in Australia if you get set, you can make big runs. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. I know I am short of runs. I think I am batting well and I am in good touch but I need to convert that into runs. I don't think this is related to captaincy. I have played 75 Test matches, if I am still under pressure now then there is no use of all that experience"
"Imam played in tough conditions in SA and gave some good performances. He has been playing ODI cricket and the way he was batting in the nets, he deserved to get a go"
"Abid Ali is one of our top FC performers and he is in our plans, whenever we get a chance we will play him and he will hopefully play for a long time for Pakistan. We trust him as a very good opening batsman"
"We are playing at home in completely different conditions to Australia. We have to quickly adapt now, we were practising according to Australia and now we have to adapt. We are playing our 1st Test in Pakistan in a long time, this is my first Test at home. So we need to quickly figure out how we are going to win here, we have an idea about how to win matches in Dubai and we have to do the same here. Hopefully we will have a good wicket which suits our side and on which we can get results. We have discussed and made plans according to the conditions in Pindi and Karachi"
"It was a disappointing series for us in Australia. We are a proud cricket nation and our pride is hurt by these losses"
"Two innings defeats in Australia are not acceptable and there are no excuses for that"
"I believe we did our best preparation and went with positive intent but unfortunately sometimes, results aren't according to your expectations"
"The way we picked a young bowling attack and won the toss and batted in the 1st Test showed a lot of intent from us, but unfortunately we were playing catch up. When we played well, we couldn't capitalise on that and when you don't avail your opportunities in Australia, it's not easy to make a comeback"
"Some positives from this tour, Babar Azam played brilliantly and Rizwan played well. The batsmen showed they can make runs in Australia"
"Our bowling attack was young and it couldn't perform according to expectations, but still, the world is talking about them, that they have pace. With a bit more experience, they have a great future for Pakistan"
"The players fought despite being behind in the match, if you look at the 2nd innings scores, we fought but unfortunately, it's difficult when you fall behind the game in Australia"
"A few things we need to work on. As batsmen, we are getting starts but we aren't developing match-winning partnerships. Batsmen who made runs couldn't convert that into match-winning innings. We couldn't take new ball wickets which is important in Australia, we couldn't control the run-rate so these are a few things we need to focus on in the series against SL"
"It's a great thing for us that there is a Test match in Pakistan after 10 years with SL bringing their full side. We will have to play very good cricket to defeat SL and we will try our best in between to freshen our minds and get back on track for the Test Championship"
"The bowling attack is young and has shown promise. Naseem Shah bowled well in 1st Test and showed that he has a bright future. Shaheen Shah has improved, he was bowling with consistency. He did a lot of work on his fitness and on his bowling. It doesn't look good in the wickets column but there is promise showing and they will be much better in the near future"
"It's not that the ball isn't coming onto my bat or that I'm struggling at the crease, or my feet aren't moving. I am aware that I need to score runs, all the players, captain or others at this level, nobody can survive with performances and I realise that and I'm working hard. I'm feeling good in the nets and in the match also"
"When someone is batting at 6 rpo in a Test match then no matter how aggressive you are, you have to come on the back foot a bit and wait for a wicket. You have to try different things when a partnership is formed"
"We thought of our best combination in the first Test where I would open because we had a performing middle order but Haris was struggling a bit so we gave a chance to Imam. It's not a problem for me to open or #3"
"If you look at any team, you will see 2-3 players with knee problems. It's true that since I had this knee problem, my form hasn't been the same but you can't say it's only because of that. I pass all the fitness tests, I take part in training sessions, I sprint while batting so I don't think that it's because of the injury. Sometimes your form or luck doesn't allow you to to make runs. Many players have knee surgeries and continue playing. If there are any fitness issues, PCB's medical staff will determine that"
"Regarding reports that I am going to settle down in England: Senior journalists should try to confirm news before saying it on TV. If someone says such things on TV about someone's personal life, it should be authentic. My son was studying in England since 3 years and I even brought him back to Pakistan. I don't have any business or anything outside Pakistan. I had a 1 year contract with Somerset which is finished now and I don't know of any future contracts at the moment. So before spreading such news, people should confirm it"
"We had clear plans against Warner but we are guilty of not executing the plans properly in the 1st match. We allowed him to gain confidence and he's such a player that when he's confident, he bats well. We hit our plans in the 2nd Test but he countered them easily. In the 1st Test, he was on 150 and we executed our plans so he made only 2 runs in 1 hour. Sometimes you plan but you fail to execute"
"As a batting unit, we need to think about our shot selection which wasn't so good. We were even batting well at times and collapsed. So we have to realise that if we have a partnership, we need to prolong it, or build a new partnership if a wicket has fallen. We had sessions where we lost wickets in clumps and the manner of losing wickets, I think our shot selection wasn't very good"
"When I accepted captaincy, I considered everything and I said that I will have a different mindset this time. I will try to implement my plan and there is no element of worrying about my captaincy going or me being removed from the team"
"This is Pakistan's team, if you can't perform as a player, how long can you survive in the team? And same if you can't perform as a captain. So I am not worried about these things. I am confident and have confidence in my team that we are going to go forward positively. We need to develop a culture in the team where the fear factor goes away. The more you think about being dropped etc., the more it affects you"
"We have talked about selection and the team will be announced tomorrow"
"I played 5 FC matches this year, I saw almost all the teams and saw their batting and bowling. When we selected a team for Aus, we considered everything and selected the best possible bowling attack which we felt can perform at international level currently, and similarly with batsmen. Domestic cricket is very important, and we also have to look at the requirements for international cricket. We have to judge whether players are ready for the international level or not. Sometimes you have less options so you have to take risks, sometimes you have many options and you take the best one"
"I have only heard of one captain who picked the team according to his own wishes and that was Imran Khan. Now things have changed, there is a selection committee and a process. We discuss things in meetings"
"Yasir has been our #1 bowler and has won us a lot of Tests in the last 5 years. Spinners never find it easy in Australia, even Lyon didn't get wickets till the last innings. Yes he has better control because he is used to those conditions. Not picking up new ball wickets is a big factor because you can't build pressure on the other team"
"We thought Yasir will be effective at Adelaide because the ball was turning but they attacked him and he was under pressure throughout. Sometimes if you're struggling, you can get support from the other end which helps you to get in a good frame of mind again but unfortunately we couldn't take wickets at any time to put them under pressure"
"My performances weren't good here or in SA. The conditions in SA are different, they are tough for batsmen but in Australia if you get set, you can make big runs. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. I know I am short of runs. I think I am batting well and I am in good touch but I need to convert that into runs. I don't think this is related to captaincy. I have played 75 Test matches, if I am still under pressure now then there is no use of all that experience"
"Imam played in tough conditions in SA and gave some good performances. He has been playing ODI cricket and the way he was batting in the nets, he deserved to get a go"
"Abid Ali is one of our top FC performers and he is in our plans, whenever we get a chance we will play him and he will hopefully play for a long time for Pakistan. We trust him as a very good opening batsman"
"We are playing at home in completely different conditions to Australia. We have to quickly adapt now, we were practising according to Australia and now we have to adapt. We are playing our 1st Test in Pakistan in a long time, this is my first Test at home. So we need to quickly figure out how we are going to win here, we have an idea about how to win matches in Dubai and we have to do the same here. Hopefully we will have a good wicket which suits our side and on which we can get results. We have discussed and made plans according to the conditions in Pindi and Karachi"
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