Babar Azam says Pakistan focused on giving their best to all World Cup matches, not one

Published September 26, 2023
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam addresses a press conference ahead of national team’s departure to India for World Cup. — PCB/Twitter
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam addresses a press conference ahead of national team’s departure to India for World Cup. — PCB/Twitter

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Tuesday said the national side was focused on winning all the matches during the World Cup and not just one.

“As a team, we play match-to-match and we are eying the World Cup … we have nine matches to win before we can win the World Cup,” he said.

The national squad is set to depart for India for the tournament tomorrow. The team is due to travel to Dubai from Lahore before flying to Hyderabad, India, to play two warm-up matches — against New Zealand on Sept 29 and Australia on Oct 3.

The team’s World Cup campaign will officially kick off in Hyderabad on October 6 against The Netherlands. Their second match will be against Sri Lanka at the same venue on Oct 10.

The national side’s third fixture will be the high-octane encounter against arch-rivals India at Ahmedabad on October 14 before they go on to play Australia next and the remaining matches against other sides, ending their league stage with the game against England in Kolkata on November 12.

During a press conference in Lahore today, Babar said the team’s morale was high and appealed to the nation to pray for them.

The skipper admitted that Pakistan’s performance during two key Asia Cup matches were “not the best”. However, he said the team had learnt from its mistakes and would “give its best” during the World Cup.

“We will go, see the conditions and will opt for a combination that is best for the team,” he said. “I’m not worried about my performance. I always try to perform in a manner that suits the team.”

In response to a question on the October 14 clash with India, Babar said: “I’m very excited to play in Ahmedabad. It is the biggest stadium in the world and will be jam-packed for the India-Pakistan clash.

“Although we have not played in India before, we are not taking too much pressure.”

Babar maintained that the squad was focused on winning all the nine matches and eventually picking up the trophy.

Questioned about the performance of spinners in the squad, Babar said, “No player is ordinary … it is very difficult to play in the Pakistan team, that only happens with performance and their performance is good.”

“They will do good in the World Cup as well,” the skipper added.

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