Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Babar Azam, the skipper of Pakistan’s cricket team, has expressed his aspirations to lead his team to victory in the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023.
Babar stated that his focus is now on winning the World Cup and he is determined and ambitious to achieve this goal and believes that it would be an incredibly fulfilling experience to captain a World Cup-winning side. “Being the captain of a World Cup-winning side would be sweet,” said the skipper while speaking to PCB Digital.
Babar emphasized that as a captain, he not only focuses on his field and batting, but also on leading and managing the team effectively. “I enjoy taking on this dual responsibility as it brings out the best in me. I believe that the role of a captain is crucial, and I am fully committed to leading my team with confidence and determination.”
A day after breaking the record for the fastest to 5000 ODI runs, Babar, who will play his 100th ODI today (Sunday) in Karachi, has revealed that he is now aiming to clean-sweep New Zealand to stay atop the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings.
Speaking to PCB Digital, the captain recalled several career highlights including the first time he was called upon to the team. “It was a different feeling altogether,” he said. “There was some talk about me being selected, but when I got the call, there was a lot of excitement. I was sitting with my family and it made them happy.
“When I entered the Gaddafi Stadium as a Pakistan player, I reminisced my journey of how I used to come here as a ball picker and how I had come here before Inzamam-ul-Haq’s final Test match, which was against South Africa, as a net bowler.”
He also recalled how he wasn’t picked to the national academy for top performers after his first season as an under-15 regional player and the many sacrifices he made on the road to becoming an international cricketer.
Once in the national team, Babar had a good start to his career but struggled to convert starts into big knocks. He recalled the role of former head coach, and now team director, Mickey Arthur, in him turning around this trend with three centuries on the trot against the West Indies in UAE. “I want to mention Mickey as he played an integral role in my transformation,” Babar said.
