Babar keeping an eye on performances

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: While Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam is busy guiding Karachi Kings’ campaign with the bat in the Pakistan Super League, he is keeping one eye on players in the tournament who can deliver during ICC T20 World Cup 2020.

“PSL and World Cup are two different things. I am focusing on PSL, but it’s not that I am not thinking of the World Cup,” he said.

“I am looking at PSL and keeping an eye on who is performing well, bowling well. I am looking at who can be a part of the team for the World Cup and which players will be suited for Australian conditions.”

“Captaincy has given me a lot of responsibilities. Earlier one would think of just one’s batting but now one has to think of the entire team and take all players along,” he said in an  interview with  Abu Dhabi based newspaper The National.

“It’s quite difficult. I captained at the U19 level, but there is a big difference between that and international cricket. I have just started and hopefully it will work out well.”

For Azam, it’s the tour of South Africa where he raised his game. “For me, my Test cricket improved after the South Africa tour. There I learnt how to score runs in Test cricket, how to survive each session. Gradually, as you score big, play longer innings, talk to senior players, you get an idea how to perform in Test cricket,” Babar Azam said.

“The Australia tour was very good. The last time I went there, I struggled in Test matches. This time, I improved a lot. It was outstanding,” he said.

Babar Azam: “I am looking at (the) PSL and keeping an eye on who is performing well, bowling well.”