"You will all see some good competition and it will be a good challenge" : Babar Azam

[MenInG]

Babar Azam speaking to the media:


"I came to here in 2012 as captain of the U19 team and I have now come to Australia as captain of the T20I side which is a great honour for me"

"We are the number one ranked team in T20Is but Australia is also a very good side so you will all see some good competition and it will be a good challenge"

[Questioner asked that some people say Misbah will be guiding you from the outside]

"It will be I who will be on the ground to captain; I have captained the U19 side in 2012, then after that I have been playing as a player and I have had an opportunity to learn a lot of things and I will do my best to apply all my learnings in practice"

"This team is a very good combination of a young and experience players, amongst the seniors we have Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Irfan; We then have newer players like Mohammad Hasnain, Khushdil Shah and Musa Khan, so its a good combination"

"When everyone performs according to plan, then there will be less pressure on everyone; As a player, I will be thinking only about my batting when I am at the crease, but when I am on the field, I will be focused on fielding and captaincy so I wont be taking unnecessary pressure on myself during fielding and batting"

"I have been to Australia before so I have an idea of the conditions here and there is no such pressure on me; Our team is well gelled and we all help out each other a lot and things are much easier"

"We will really miss Sarfaraz Ahmed a lot; We can't thank him enough for his services to the Pakistan team as he has helped us become the number one ranked T20I side; Inshallah, I will do my best to help Pakistan continue to be the number one ranked side in T20Is"

"Yes, we have planned for this and we will try to get him [David Warner] out earlier on in the game and for that our main fast-bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Irfan will play a part”

“These games are important as the T20 World Cup is here also so we will try and play good cricket and perform well, Australia are good side so you will get to see good cricket”

“Conditions are easier (for us) in white-ball cricket in Australia as white-ball cricket is a little different from the Tests; Wickets in Australia are ‘true’ and we have prepared well during our practice game and also worked out well in nets”

 

[Haripotter]

I don't see Pakistan winning any t20 series against a tougher opposition with full strength

 

[Usman Chadda]

I don't see Pakistan winning any t20 series against a tougher opposition with full strength

No one believed Pakistan would be a whisker away from playing a WC semi-final this year aswell.

 

[thecrusade911]

No one believed Pakistan would be a whisker away from playing a WC semi-final this year aswell.

It's not something to be believed. Everyone believed that they won't reach semifinals and that's exactly what happened.

 

[Mamoon]

Can’t help but laugh every time we call ourselves #1.

 

[Usman Chadda]

It's not something to be believed. Everyone believed that they won't reach semifinals and that's exactly what happened.

You can twist the narrative whatever way you can.

 

[MenInG]

I like Babar Azam - and I want him to succeed as captain and batsman - huge test of character for him this series.

 

[Mueez]

Huge test coming up for Babar!

Wish him luck and please play those eye-soothing cover drives

 

[Green Patriot]

Desperately praying for Babar to defy expectations and come out on top and lead us successfully for the years to come.
And most importantly- just stay away from controversies and scandals.

 

[Mamoon]

He is leading a poor side with weak mentality. He should only be judged on his individual performance.

 

[WengerOut]

He shouldn't be even judged on this T20s. It is just fun cricket.

 

[DRsohail]

He is leading a poor side with weak mentality. He should only be judged on his individual performance.

How many times you said that Doc?ک

 

[MenInG]

How many times you said that Doc?ک

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I like it that captaincy will thrust Babar Azam's batting prowess into the limelight.

How did he do the last time around when he came with U19 as Captain?

 

[Abdullah]

Time to become a big boy!
I'm getting a feeling this will be a close series

 

[MenInG]

Mickey Arthur on Babar Azam

"Babar does what he does, he scores runs. He played incredibly well today, proper cricket shots and that shows what makes a quality player. He takes toll on the bad balls and he runs hard"

"Babar Azam is a true champion and in my opinion, one of the best batsmen in the world. Alongside Kohli, Williamson, Smith and Root, he sits comfortably in that crowd"

"We worked a lot on Babar for his ability outside the powerplay overs, to be able to work the ball around, manipulate the strike and maintain a healthy SR and he did that"

"Babar was always going to captain Pakistan, he's got a very good cricket brain. He's a lovely guy, he's a leader because he's the best player. Whether it was the right time, time will tell. I would've liked to see him getting groomed a bit more for captaincy, brought into the leadership group as a VC, brought into the meetings so that he was ready and well prepared for it. This is all possibly a bit too quick, for my liking. But don't get me wrong, he'll be a good captain in future and he's already an unbelievable batsman"