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Naeem Niazi
LAHORE, Jun 02 (APP):Pakistan Men’s cricket Captain Babar Azam has said that he was ready to take the gauntlet whoever be the opposition, and had the belief to do well at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA 2024.
In a podcast released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) here on Sunday, a resolute Babar Azam said it did not make any difference if Pakistan team were involved in ‘Group of Death’ during the second round of the T20 World Cup, adding that every team was a strong unit.
In the first-ever 20 team ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistan are placed in Group A, along side co-hosts USA, India, Canada and Ireland and are most likely to make to the second stage of the mega event. In the second stage, relying on the team rankings, Pakistan will be grouped with England, West Indies and South Africa. The other group is most likely to comprise New Zealand, Australia, India and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan grouped with the two-times T20 World champions West Indies and England besides South Africa, the podcast host Sami Burney suggested that it had become ‘group of death’ as one mistake would mean elimination.
Babar’s response was, “in this era of T20 cricket, no team was a weak unit and we are, accordingly, planning against all oppostions. We may overcome any team through proper planning, hard work and good performance.”
On belief and talent, the said talent could take one to a certain height, and the stardom was subject to strategy, planning and hard work. He said adaptability to foreign conditions, especially at the United States was vital to the good results, adding that almost all top-ranked teams were playing in the US for the first time. However, he said many Pakistan cricketers are playing cricket in the United States and the team management has collected information from players.
“Playing in the Dallas, New York and Florida will be a new challenge as we have no information on the pitches, ground dimensions and other statistics as compared with the other cricket venues of the world,” Babar responded.
About USA and Canada challenge, he said though Pakistan team has never played against the USA and Canada but they have some first-hand knowledge about the opposition cricketers through data and analytics, adding that cricket was not playing one match after the other but it was a whole science.
On Pakistan-India fixture in New York on June 6, Babar said the Pakistan and India contest is the most-talked-about match in the world of cricket, adding their meeting carries different vibes and excitement. “The whole world seems to move towards the Pakistan-India match as it remains talk of the town for weeks in advance. This does create nerves but focus and sticking to the basics helps one get over the pressure of the game,” Babar responded.
Babar agreed with the query that it was not about overcoming against India but the team must win against all other teams to be claim the title, adding that any team could give you a surprise if you lose your focus.
About responsibilities of the captain beyond the field, Babar said a captain’s job was not limited to the cricketing field only but he was involved in planning and strategy beyond the field. A captain has to have strong communication with the15-members of the squad and the management, adding that he had to have a strong liaison with his team-mates and take them along through thick and thin. “Motivating your team mates was vital to good performance in the match,” Babar added.
Babar was upbeat to play yet another final at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 after losing in the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and losing to the defending champions England in Australia in 2022, adding that the team needed to learn from its mistakes and improve on its performance.
About elusive ICC trophy in Babar’s captaincy, he was of the view that it was a dream to lift an ICC trophy as captain, adding that he had captained the team in U 19, T20 and ODI cricket.
On team environment, he said the team was closely gelled and enjoyed in the success of each other. He said the players celebrate success of each and stand by the player when the chips are down. He said the players were honest to each other. He said the senior players always step up to help the young cricketers in the team.
On his regrets in the ICC events, Babar said the loss against Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE was due to poor fielding and bowling, while the loss against Zimbabwe in the 2022 World Cup was the most painful loss of all. However, he said the team lost the final against England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 due to an unfortunate injury to ace fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.
On team selection for the T20 World Cup, Babar Azam said presence of the experienced fast bowling quartet of Shaheen, Naseem, Haris and Amir was a headache, adding that it is difficult to decide a combination in the presence of such bowling attack. He made special mention of the experienced Imad Wasim.
Babar Said that the team combination has been sorted out and the players should be ready to accept the roles assigned to them by the head coach and the captain as per the requirement of the occasion.
On Gary Kirsten, Babar said Head Coach Gary Kirsten has loads of experience in player management and he is sure to lift the team to lift the trophy in the West Indies and USA.