Pakistan Cricket Team captain Shan Masood said on Thursday that Babar Azam was Pakistan’s best batter in all three formats of the game.
Speaking at the unveiling of a trophy for the test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, which is set to get underway tomorrow, Pakistani skipper said whenever Babar scored runs, it boosted his confidence. “The star batsman performed extremely well in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches. And I am hopeful he will show the same performance during the test series in Bangladesh.”
He further said that Sarfaraz Ahmad had remained team’s captain for a long time. “I have had the opportunity to play with him for quite some time,” Masood said, adding, “There are several others in the team’s coaching staff with whom we played a lot of cricket.”
He added that he and his teammates were also quite familiar with Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul. “They are no strangers to us.”
“Now given this close bond between the coaching staff and players, I am quite optimistic that it will produce positive results,” he hoped.
The skipper said that he did not think there was any word like ‘revenge’ in Pakistani team’s lexicon. “Team Bangladesh played better cricket in 2024, and they demonstrated their skills quite well,” he said, adding that the 16-member Pakistani squad knew Bangladeshi conditions very well.
“We will play better cricket and will end the series on a positive note.”
Masood reminisced that he had played two test series against Bangladesh, and both were played in Rawalpindi. “I have started liking the Bangladeshi team since then.”
He went on to say that presently the team was focused on winning matches during the tour to Bangladesh.
He said that the pitch for the first test match looked favourable for the fast bowlers. “We came across the same pitches during our tour to Australia and South Africa. However, we have still to make final examination of the pitch. Only then, we will decide the playing eleven.”
Captain said that Bangladesh’s fast bowling attack was best in the world. “I don’t want to make a comparison between Pakistani bowlers with those of any other team.”
Masood said that changes had been made to the team in view of injuries and non-availability of some players.
He said he believed in his fast bowlers.
