Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam, in a virtual press conference from Rawalpindi on Wednesday, shared a special message for fans in Rawalpindi who will not be able to fill out the stands in the second Test against at South Africa as the matches are being played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The 26-year-old remembered the last time he had played at the venue and described the special ovation he had received from the raucous crowd.
“We will miss the crowd in Pindi which has given us a lot of love. I still remember the way the crowd backed us last time. That feeling was something completely different. The fans’ support gives us a lot of confidence. I would like to ask everyone to keep supporting us. I would request our fans to back everyone in the side,” said Babar.
The prolific batsman praised the progress made by batsmen Abdullah Shafique and Saud Shakeel while claiming that handling pressure was the most important task for a cricketer in international cricket.
“Abdullah Shafique and Saud Shakeel are very good players. They have been performing in recent domestic tournaments. Shakeel has knowledge of Test cricket. Shafique plays spinners really well. Confidence however is very important in international cricket. They are being taught to not panic in any situation and to play the way they have been. International cricket is all about pressure. We are talking to them and they are practicing in order to execute plans,” he said.
The captain of the Men in Green revealed that the team’s morale was very high after winning the first Test against South Africa in Karachi.
“The morale of the team is high. I agree that we lost wickets at the top in the first Test. But I would like to give credit to Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali for the way they played and made a big partnership. When the opposition takes back-to-back wickets the pressure builds up. They both showed their experience by taking the side out of trouble. They have the knowledge to play according to the situation and we should learn from them,” he