'No Pressure Of Captaincy At All': Babar Azam

Pakistan Captain Babar Azam has said that he did not feel any pressure of the captaincy thrust upon him and he was ready to lead the team to the ICC T20 World Cup

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2020 ) :Pakistan Captain Babar Azam has said that he did not feel any pressure of the captaincy thrust upon him and he was ready to lead the team to the ICC T20 World Cup.

In a post match press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday, he said that all players were provided sufficient opportunities to perform and prove their worth for the team, adding there was no pressure whatsoever on them to perform within fixed openings.

Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the second Twenty20 international of the three match series and clinched the series 2-0 with the last fixture to be played on Monday at the same venue.

To a question, the top ranked T20 batsman of the world said that he was delighted with the selection of veteran batsmen Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez who had added value to the team and won the series through their impeccable performances in the two T20Is.

"Mohammad Hafeez changes the tempo of the game with his hitting as I played my normal game", he responded, adding that Hafeez was a bit tentative in the beginning of his innings but changed the complexion of the game with his hard hitting which took the match away from Bangladesh.

Babar also praised his fast bowlers for their disciplined fiery bowling which restricted Bangladesh to a below-par score on a very good pitch.

He said Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain bowled with purpose and never alllowed Bangladesh batsmen to dictate terms.

On the supporting pitches, Babar said more international cricket in the country would help improve the quality of pitches in Pakistan, adding that the pitch for the second T20I was far better than the previous track.

Reposing his confidence in the side which won him the series, Babar Azam hinted at changes in the team to provide annopportunity to the other players during the third and last T20 international against Bangladesh.

On the return of former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar said any player could make a case for selection for the T20 World Cup squad by performing in the PSL and other matches to follow, adding that the management was open to performance based selection in the team in the coming months before the final squad for the T20 World was picked.