LAHORE: Pakistan’s All-Forms Captain Babar Azam has supported batsman Mohammad Rizwan for the upcoming ODI series at home against West Indies.
Babar interacted with the media ahead of the team’s scheduled training camp for the West Indies series and weighed in on Rizwan who is struggling to get going in the ODI format.
“Form is temporary in cricket and I think it’s part of the game.
Rizwan is our important player and he supports me in difficult times,” Babar stated.
Rizwan is currently going through a slump in ODIs as the right-handed batsman was only able to score 192 runs in his last 11 matches since 2020 at a dismal average of 17.45.
Babar, on the other hand, weighed in more on the upcoming series, expressing his delight at playing without a managed environment after 2020.
“We are going to play cricket in a normal atmosphere after a long time, which is a great pleasure for us,” Babar said.
“We are very happy and excited for the start of camp. We will be playing in Multan after a long period and it is a delight for us,” he added.
“It is very hot there, but we are ready to accept the challenge. We will make the camp at 2:00 p.m. to face the extreme weather, ”she maintained.
While talking about the preparations for the upcoming series, Babar stated that he is aiming for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 and looking to prepare accordingly.
“We have the 2023 World Cup in mind and we are preparing for it. This series is very important for us as it is part of the World Cup Super League,” he said.
“We don’t consider any team to be an easy opponent, as all teams go out on the field with all the preparations. We ourselves have not played international cricket for the last two months. Our players, however, played County Cricket in England, but I think domestic cricket is different from international cricket,” added Babar.
The Pakistan skipper also asserted himself as a fully independent captain while emphasizing the need to give players the right opportunities and only analyze their performances after a certain time.
“I am an independent captain and I also believe that everyone has a different way of thinking,” he said.
“In order to establish a good team, we must provide constant opportunities to the players and we must only review their performances once they get constant opportunities for a certain period,” he concluded.
It is timely to mention here that Pakistan will face West Indies in a three-match ODI series. The three games will be played on June 8, 10 and 12 respectively.
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