Babar Azam Promises Fans to Come Up Expectations

Muhammad Naeem Khan Niazi

Lahore: Captain Babar Azam has said that the Pakistan team will do its best to come up to the expectations of the cricket fans at home and abroad and lift the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 trophy.

Talking to the media men during the pre-departure press conference at the Gaddafi stadium here on Monday, he said the team could not reach the podium during the past two attempts in the UAE and Australia, adding that the team has the self-belief and is fully focused to go for the top.

Pakistan Men’s team is due to leave for Ireland to play a three-match T20I series on May 7 (tomorrow). The team will face off England in four T20Is during the last week of May and then fly to the USA to take part in the ICC T20I World Cup.

“I have faith in all the players and we will give our 100 percent to bring joy on the faces of our fans by winning the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA,” a confident-looking Babar Azam reassured.

Responding to comparison of Haris Rauf with fast bowler Muhammad Ali and all-rounder Aamer Jamal, Babar said Haris Rauf has produced extraordinary performance over the past three to four years and won matches single-handedly for Pakistan, adding that Muhammad Ali is new-ball bowler and struggled when he played out of Multan Cricket stadium during the recently concluded HBL PSL 2024.

“Sometimes players are thrust into a sport but it all depends on the quality of talent. Muhammad Ali needs some time to nurture his talents for the best use for the country,” Babar summed up.

Babar Azam assured that no player will face injustice, adding that Muhammad Ali is on their radar for selection in future.

He further stressed that selection of a player to the side was not his sole discretion as a captain, adding that the selection process involved seven selectors. “I may give my opinion but one has to accept others’ views as well,” he added.

He said Aamer Jamal has proved himself as a good fast-bowling all-rounder in the test arena, adding that he needs to do well in the T20I consistently to challenge others for a slot in the national side. 

Babar Azam was confident that Haris Rauf would make a strong impact after quite a long rest due to injury.

On wicket-keeper batsman Muhammad Haris’ exclusion from the World Cup squad, the stylish batsman Babar said Haris played as a top-order pinch hitter in the last T20I World Cup 2022 after Fakhar Zaman was sidelined due to injury, adding that there was no room for the batter in the presence of four top-orders batsmen like himself, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.

Babar further said Muhammad Haris is a fine player but did not carry good form in the HBL PSL 9 and the selection committee was conclusive in its opinion that he was needed for the middle order role.

On Hasan Ali’s selection to the squad, Babar clarified that Hasan Ali was picked as a back-up and not part of the 15-member squad for the ICC event. He said he was picked for his cricketing experience, adding Zaman Khan is a new ball bowler while the team already has the four new-ball bowlers in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. He dispelled the impression that Hasan Ali was the pick of one member of the selection committee.

On posting 200 runs to win, Babar Azam said, “One cannot score these runs every day and it all depends on the pitch condition and form of the players.”

 He said the Rawalpindi Cricket stadium turfs produced high-scoring fixtures but the pitch behaved differently during the three matches against the New Zealand Men’s team last month. “Though we take help from data, it is the character of a pitch on the match day which helps us to conclude how many runs can be scored,” the skipper added.

On low first power-play scores by Pakistan, Babar Azam disagreed with the impression among the people, adding that he had above 50 runs in the first power-play while playing with Mohammad Rizwan.

The T20I captain said that there is always room for improvement and Rizwan, Saim and he, himself, are working in the nets to hit hard and score big runs.

He hailed Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi for owning the team and giving them confidence to go for the marquee event without fear of losing, adding that Naqvi had more rewards for the cricketers in store than 100,000 dollars on winning the ICC T20I WC 2024.

On Head Coach Gary Kirsten, Babar said the former South African opening batsman Kirsten is a very experienced coach and in close contact with the team. “He is in close contact with the team and daily reports are shared with him and his planning is shared with him,” Babar added.

“Gary Kirsten is a very experienced guy and knows how to gel with the team,” Babar said.

Babar said he is ready to listen to the advice of the Head Coach in the collective interest of the team whether it involves him, Rizwan or Saim to switch places, adding that it is not about individual interests but the team comes first. 

On Kohli, the captain said Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in the world, adding that the team strategy against him and the other 10 players will be designed after assessing the conditions in New York.

Babar Azam said that the rotation policy to check bench strength was over and a full-strength team will be fielded against the Irish and English teams, adding that the same team combination more or less will play the T20I World Cup.

The feature report was released by APP.