LAHORE: On Monday, Pakistani skipper Babar Azam claimed that his team had the skills and experience necessary to succeed in the next two-Test series in Sri Lanka.
Before departing for Colombo via Dubai in the wee hours of Monday, Babar spoke at a press conference and said, “We possess a good spin attack and our fast bowlers have the ability to perform under different conditions while we also have the batters who hold the experience to perform in those conditions.”
Fifth-placed A series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, ranked seventh in the ICC Test team rankings, will begin in Galle. 16 through 20 July. The second Test will take place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo from July 24-28.
The 27-year-old Babar, who has played 40 Tests including 11 as captain, stated, “Pakistan is touring Sri Lanka to play the Test matches after 2015 and we trust the players would do their best to achieve maximum points.”
Babar has led his team to victories in two tests against each of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and the West Indies while also suffering defeats in one test against Australia and the West Indies.
“We’re going with a great spin attack that features Yasir Shah, an accomplished [leg-spinner. “This department, which can play a vital role in Sri Lankan, is well prepared to deliver,” said Babar, who will be playing his debut Test in Sri Lanka. Nauman Ali and Mohammad Nawaz are also competent [slow left-arm orthodox] spinners.
“Similarly, during the training camp [recently conducted in Rawalpindi], our fast bowlers trained well for the series.”
When speaking about Yasir, the captain emphasised that his biggest issue was fitness but said that he had put in a lot of effort to get better.
“The team management provided him maximum opportunity to bowl at the training camp [in Rawalpindi], and he remained impressive.”
In response to a query, Babar stated that the best team will be chosen while considering the Sri Lankan conditions, and that if necessary, opener Shan Masood may bat in the middle of the order.
According to the current circumstances, “we will enter the field with the best combination, and if it is considered necessary Shan can also play,” he stated.
Shan, a southpaw who last participated in a Test match in January 2021 at Christchurch against New Zealand, has batted admirably for Derbyshire in the current English County Championship.
Babar disagreed with the questioner’s assertion that Pakistan required a strong hitter at position five, arguing that wicketkeeper/batsman Mohammad Rizwan, Nawaz, and he were all batting in the middle and could all respond appropriately to the situation.
He highlighted that while he had no control over the weather in Sri Lanka, he could make his best effort, and he promised that the guys would do the same.
At the press conference, Babar was questioned twice about India’s star batsman Virat Kohli, a number of whose international cricket records the latter has shattered. But Babar refrained from giving into specifics.
When asked if he would consider playing with Kohli in the Afro-Asian cricket series that the Asian Cricket Council is planning for next year, Babar responded that his current attention was on the Sri Lanka series. Babar claimed he was solely focused on his performance when asked about breaking Kohli’s records again without mentioning the Indian batter by name.
Former Pakistani quick Shoaib Akhtar, according to Babar, paid a visit to the national training facility in Rawalpindi and provided some helpful advice to the fast bowlers.
