Tag: Babar Azam Press conference

RAWALPINDI: Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam seemed a bit disheartened over the loss of his team despite scoring a mammoth 240, which also included his maiden PSL century, against Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday. 

Babar said his side’s bowling was not up to the mark in the game and they conceded more than 12 runs per over throughout the innings.

“We couldn’t bowl up to the expectations,” said Babar in a post-match conference after Gladiators sealed a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Zalmi in a high-scoring match of the Pakistan Super League season 8.

Quetta’s hard-hitting opener Jason Roy was invincible as he smacked a phenomenal 63-ball 145 to single-handedly crush Zalmi in the match.

“We applied everything in our bowling. But he (Jason Roy) was simply outstanding” confessed Babar.

However, Zalmi’s captain did not shy away from accepting their own mistakes with the ball and shared the blame equally on both – Roy’s blitz as well as Zalmi’s poor bowling – for the defeat of his team.

“We could not execute what we planned. You can say it was fifty-fifty. 50 per cent credit goes to his (Roy’s) innings and 50 per cent to our own bad bowling” he said.

“It is not just he played extraordinarily but we made mistakes too,” he added.

Furthermore, Babar stated that the next two matches will be crucial for the Zalmi following this defeat, as they currently sit on eight points in the standings and need at least one victory in two matches to qualify for the playoffs.

“We will sit and discuss where we can improve. God willing, we will try to score 280 in the next match” he quipped.

Moreover, Pakistan all-format captain Babar also lauded his opening partner at Zalmi, Saim Ayub, who has impressed with his superb batting performances and picturesque shots in the tournament.

The left-hander scored 74 from 34 balls in the match before scoring 36-ball 68 the other day against Lahore Qalandars.

“The way Saim batted, it was outstanding,” said Zalmi captain.

“As a captain of the Pakistan team, I have my eyes on every top performer in the league,” remarked Babar when asked whether he was keen to give Saim a breakthrough in the national team after watching him closely.

He added all the players performing at the PSL needed to establish themselves a bit more.

“It is too early to comment on T20 World Cup 2024” he replied to a question about incorporating the top PSL performers in Pakistan’s T20I side before the mega event next year.

“We should not haste and hype the players so quickly. Let them perform for some more time” he concluded.

READ: Motie leads West Indies fightback against South Africa in 2nd Test

 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has sent a clear message to his critics, saying he does not have to appease anyone. 

“My job is to play cricket and enjoy my game,” he said in a pre-series press talk on Sunday. “I do not need to answer or satisfy anyone. I know my game and my responsibility, be it as a batsman or as a captain.”

The strong reply from Pakistan’s captain came at a time when the national side has just finished its home Test season with a series whitewash by England, followed by a nil-nil draw against New Zealand.

Ahead of the three-match One-Day international series against New Zealand, commencing tomorrow, Babar said his team would try to switch from the Test mode as quickly as possible and continue their momentum in the white-ball format.

“We have been playing positive cricket in white ball. We will try to continue this momentum and begin this new year with positive results” he added.

Talking about Shan Masood’s possible inclusion in the playing XI since he has been named as the team’s vice-captain in the upcoming ODIs, the skipper maintained that none of the players was certain to play the upcoming matches.

“At this moment, I cannot say about any individual player, be it vice-captain or XYZ, that he will be part of playing XI ” he said.

“We will play our best XI and try to win this series” he added.

With three uncapped – Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir and Kamran Ghulam – and two returning – Haris Sohail and Shan – players selected in the squad, Babar insisted it was not difficult for him to accommodate new faces in the team.

“They (Haris and Shan) have already played for Pakistan. Tayyab Tahir and Kamran Ghulam are the top performers in domestic cricket and they must grab it if they are given the opportunity to play for the national team” he said

The three-match series is a part of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. The second and third ODIs will take place on January 11 and 13, respectively.

Pakistan ODI Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir and Usama Mir

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has dispelled the impression that he is under any sort of pressure after the recent changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s top hierarchy, saying his sole focus is on the field rather than the developments happening outside. 

“A lot has been changed in the last three to four days, but as a professional, you’ve to face these things,” he said in a scheduled pre-match press talk on Sunday.

“Our job is to put our efforts in the field’ he added. “These are off-field developments while our sole focus is on the ground”

With Pakistan set to engage in a two-match Test series against New Zealand commencing tomorrow, Babar said the final XI for the opening Test has not been finalized.

“The decision on the final XI will be made after consultation with the selectors,” he told.

Pakistan captain informed that he was taken on board on the last-minute changes made in the Test squad, saying he had a discussion with the newly-appointed interim chief selector Shahid Afridi about the selection of the new players.

On Saturday, the interim selection committee Shahid Afridi added Mir Hamza, Sajid Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani to the Pakistan Test squad for the Test series against New Zealand.

While conceding that his team did not perform up to the mark in the recently-concluded Test series against England that ended in a disappointing 3-0 home series whitewash, Babar hoped that his team would make a comeback in the upcoming home assignment.

“I accept that we didn’t play good cricket against England, but we are sure to make a comeback in this series.”

“We played our best eleven against England but obviously when the results do not come in your favour, you face such type of criticism,” he added.

READ: India beat Bangladesh in second Test thriller

KARACHI: After Pakistan’s dismal 0-3 series whitewash against England, skipper Babar Azam has taken complete responsibility for the disappointing results, saying as a captain he will be at the forefront to defend the team.

Speaking at a press conference after England sealed a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the final Test on Monday, Babar said his side lacked experience players, especially the injuries to their bowling mainstays remained a major blow for the team.

“We played some good cricket in patches, but overall we could not finish the games properly,” he said. “And we too are very disappointed over the results and the series loss”

Babar added that his team perceived batting as their strength since their key bowlers were unfit but losing back-to-back wickets on several instances proved costly for the team and caused the defeats.

“Pitches were equal for both teams. We’ve to give credit to the English team for the way they played and utilized the conditions” he added.

Pakistan captain expressed that the team is in the building phase and he could not change things drastically in a week or two.

“We’ve to build the team,” he said.”We have to back the new players and give them proper chances and some time,”

Talking about his captaincy, Babar dispelled the impression there was any additional burden on him due to the role, saying: “I enjoy the captaincy and try my best to do whatever I can for the team.”

Moreover, the Pakistan captain also put his weight behind team management and said they had vast experience and services for the team.

“Their job is to share their experience and plans with us, in the end as players it is our responsibility to execute those plans,” he added.

READ: England beat Pakistan in final Test to complete 3-0 series whitewash

 

 

MULTAN: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has put forward his stance on Saud Shakeel’s controversial dismissal, saying that it seemed like the ball had made the ground first but one has to accept the umpires’ decision.

The dismissal, which apparently cost Pakistan a 26-run defeat against England in the second Test, occurred on day 4 when Saud was batting at 94 with Pakistan just 65 runs away from the target. He gloved the ball behind stumps off Mark Wood and wicket-keeper Ollie Pope dived to carry an edge that went too low but still managed to get his gloves underneath the ball.

Was it out or not out?#ASportsHD #PAKvENG #UKsePK pic.twitter.com/HHjVvlmCQ3

— ASports (@asportstvpk) December 12, 2022

On-field umpires referred the decision to third umpire Joel Wilson who took a while to check the catch and declared it out at last.

“To us, it seems like the ball has touched the ground first,” said the Pakistan captain in a post-match press conference on Monday. “But as a professional, you have to accept the umpire’s decision.

Following Saud’s dismissal, England pacers ran through the tailender to bundle out Pakistan for 328 in the second innings and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after a dramatic win in Multan.

“We made some mistakes. The game was well in our hands like the previous one, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it properly,” said Babar.

He added that the lack of experience especially the absence of the team’s key fast bowlers due to injuries led to the team’s disappointing loss in the match.

“We were a bit unlucky that our main bowlers got unfit before the game which cost us this series. But this cannot be an excuse because as a team we didn’t play good cricket” he said.

Pakistan team had rested its bowling mainstay, Naseem Shah after he suffered discomfort in his shoulder before the start of the second Test match while Haris Rauf was ruled out of the series after pulling a quad injury in the first Test.

The final Test of the historic three-match series will take place from December 17 to 21 in Karachi.

READ: England seal series after dramatic win over Pakistan in Multan Test

KARACHI: After sealing a clinical 10-wicket win over England in the second T20I, Pakistan captain Babar Azam refrained from engaging in a bout of words with the team’s detractors and analysts who hurled severe criticism over its batting strategy. 

“I am no one to give them (critics) a reply,” said Babar in a post-match press conference. “Things which are beyond our control we simply don’t listen to them and don’t even let those to enter into the team.”

Babar smashed a magnificent 110 off 66 balls laced with 11 fours and five sixes, guiding the national team to a perfect win on Thursday here at National Stadium, Karachi.

Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan combined excellently with Babar as he scored 88 off 51 and the opening pair chased down a massive 200-run target without the loss of a wicket.

“Obviously we play and gear things up according to the situation. Everyone has their own point of view. Our job is to give performances and win matches for Pakistan” he added.

Talking about the brilliant chemistry between the two openers as they recorded the highest-ever run chase in the T20I history without losing a single wicket, Babar stated they had already chased down massive targets in the past as well.

“I think our communication is quite good. Sometimes we don’t even call and take a run because we have built a kind of trust level, which is indeed necessary,” he maintained.

Furthermore, the skipper explained that the decision to replace Mohammad Hasnain with Naseem Shah in the playing lineup—which proved counter-productive because the speedster went for 51 runs in his four overs—was taken to assess the team’s bench strength.

With the phenomenal win, Pakistan have levelled the historic seven-match T20I series 1-1 against England.

READ: ‘We’ll make changes in third T20I’ Moeen after England’s loss  

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam threw his weight behind the opening pair of Pakistan in T20Is and stated that the duo won many matches for Pakistan in the last two years.

Babar, while talking to the media here at National Stadium Karachi ahead of the historic home T20I series against England and responded to a question regarding the struggling opening pair by claiming the opening pair has been very successful in the last couple of years.

“Our opening partnership has been very successful for the last two years. Look, there are different situations and scenarios, what the team requires, and what are the conditions. So, it depends on the planning,” said Babar.

“So, in my opinion, the way our opening partnership had been in the last two-year period, helped our team and gave Pakistan many victories. So, the momentum our opening pair establish is later on continued by the middle-order,” he added.

Babar continued by saying that he was probably concerned about his form but said that he was content with the middle-order, denying that middle-order failures were the cause of the decline in his performance.

“I was concerned about my own performance but was happy for the middle-order as it performed and won us crucial matches in Asia Cup as well,” claimed Babar.

“The middle order is not a cause for concern, and since it is cricket, your graph will fluctuate up and down. Therefore, our goal is to support those that are underperforming,” he maintained.

In response to a question regarding overcoming the bad patch of his career, Babar stated that he always tries not to overthink in such circumstances and always try to believe in himself to come out of it.

“Look, in a rough patch, all you can do is to avoid overthinking and keep things simple. And the most important thing is to keep faith in yourself,” he shared.

“You’ve done it in the past and you’ll do it again. Sometimes you achieve something and sometimes you don’t. So, I always try to remember the positives I have done,” Babar added.

READ: Trophy unveiled as Pakistan to take on England in historic T20I series

LAHORE: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam backed the team’s main strike bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi during his recovery from a knee injury and wanted him to be completely fit before the Asia Cup 2022.

Speaking to a scheduled press conference ahead of the national team’s ODI tour of the Netherlands, Babar stated that Shaheen would be travelling with the team so they could assess his fitness as the left-arm pacer is currently undergoing rehabilitation after he pulled an injury during Sri Lanka tour.

“In order to evaluate his fitness, we are taking Shaheen along with the team as we want him to be completely fit before the Asia Cup, ” he said.

The skipper opined on out-of-form Hasan Ali’s exclusion from the national squad and expressed confidence that a strong performance in the domestic season would propel his return to the national side.

“Hasan Ali is a team-man. Obviously, he is out-of-form but he has already demonstrated the type of athlete he is. I am confident that he will make a comeback after the upcoming domestic season,” he added.

While responding to a question on all-rounder Imad Wasim’s inclusion in the team, Babar stated that since Mohammad Nawaz had been performing well in the limited overs format, he would be continuing with the team yet the doors were not closed for Imad as well.

Furthermore, Babar extended full confidence in the middle-order batters, expecting strong performances from Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali in the absence of experienced Shoaib Malik and Mohamad Hafeez.

Moreover, the national team skipper lauded the Pakistani athletes Arshad Nadeem and Nooh Dastgir Butt for winning the gold medals in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games and urged proper training facilities for the national athletes.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan will play a three-match away ODI series against the Netherlands from August 16 to 21. The side will depart for Amsterdam in the wee hours of Friday, August 12.

READ: Santner, batters aid New Zealand beat West Indies by 13 runs in first T20I