- Babar Azam confident that his batters and bowlers will dominate Australia
- The skipper hinted at changes in the playing 11
- Not afraid of facing Australia
Preparations are picking pace as just one day is remaining in the second Test match between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi. While the visiting side has announced their playing eleven, Babar Azam hasn’t said much about the playing XI but has hinted at a few changes along with showing confidence in his team.
In a virtual press conference with the media, Babar broke silence on the ongoing criticism about the pitch, the change of conditions in Karachi, the slow pace of the Pakistani batters and the fear of playing against a big opponent. According to him, the team has a good set of batters and bowlers especially now that the injury and Covid hit players are back, and they can very much dominate the visitors.
“The conditions are equal for everyone. The Test championship points are crucial. We dominated the majority of the Test but the result didn’t come in our favour. I don’t think that we are afraid of Australia. The critics must take both opponents similarly, saying that only they can dominate is not ideal, I have full belief that we can dominate in Karachi as we have the best bowlers and batters,”
“The weather is hot and conditions [in Karachi] are different from Rawalpindi. The momentum is with us and we dominated in the last test. We saw some brilliant individual performances and everyone stepped in. We will look to win the Test in Karachi and go 1-0 in the series”
The skipper also hinted at making changes in the team for the second Test. Three main players of Pakistan, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Haris Rauf were ruled out from the first Test due to injuries and Covid-19. The trio was declared fit for the second fixture and joined the rest of the squad in Karachi. The all-rounder had a covid scare but made it back into the team after returning a negative Antigen Test. The names of the Pakistan players for the Karachi leg will be announced today.
