LAHORE/DUBLIN (APP): Pakistan Men’s cricket team captain Babar Azam has said that Pakistan cricket team will continue to play with the same ‘positive intent’ against England, it showcased against Ireland in the last two T20Is of the series in Dublin.
In post-match conversation with the PCB Youtube channel in Dublin on Tuesday night, he said the team has improved on many areas of the game during the series in both batting and bowling. Pakistan team bagged the T20I series against Ireland 2-1 after victory in the third T20I by six wickets through extraordinary performances from Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan are due to fly to England to play a four-match T20I series from May 22 to May 30.
On the improvements, Babar said Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman have given good performances in the middle order in the second and third T20I against Ireland, adding that their form is a good omen for the country. “We were struggling in the lower middle order in the past but Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed played good knocks during the series,” he added.
“The team played with ‘positive intent’ after defeat in the first of the three T20Is against Ireland and it achieved the game plan it was given,” the skipper said, adding that the team had struggled after the first six overs of the power-play in the first match of the series but overcame the weakness in the last two games.
“We will carry the same momentum in the four-match T20I series against England,” the white-ball captain said. He hailed the senior bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Amir who led from the front in the last two T20Is, adding that Abbas Afridi has acclimatized well with the pressure of the international cricket and bowled well.
Babar Azam was all praise for Imad Wasim who helped the team to through difficult situations during the series, adding that he rescued the team from difficult scenarios with his bowling. Babar Azam resolved to make amends for the mistakes committed during the Ireland T20I series, adding that there are only four matches prior to the departure for ICC T20 World Cup.
On partisan fan base in a foreign land, the Pakistan captain said that the team enjoyed such partisan support from the fans at the ground in Dublin, adding that Pakistan fans had travelled from all across Europe to watch them play in Ireland.
The ace batsman Babar Azam urged the Pakistan cricket fans to continue supporting their team with the same zeal in the days to come.