PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam Reflects On Winless Home Season, Denies Blaming Pitches For Results

Published - 07 Jan 2023, 01:45 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM

Photo Credit: (Twitter)

Pakistan under Babar Azam drew the two-match Test series against New Zealand which culminates their home season in the ongoing World Test Championship. They lost a Test series against Australia 1-0 and 3-0 against England in this period before settling for a draw against the Kiwis.

After the end of the second Test, Babar Azam reflected back on how the home season went for him and his players. Despite scoring over 1000 runs in the calendar year in the format, Babar failed to play the much-needed match-winning innings.

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Test Season Hasn’t Gone To Our Expectations: Babar Azam

Responding to the home season Babar first said that the home season did not go as per expectations and injuries to key players played their part in the team not finding an ideal combination in Test cricket. In the same breadth, he denied criticizing the pitch and the conditions saying that the pitches are different in every venue and the players just did not cope up with them.

“The Test season hasn’t gone according to expectations. It’s not an excuse but some of our players were unfit which disturbed our combination. Of course, there’s talk about the pitches, but conditions are different at every venue. We give our input on pitches, but you get the pitches you get, and after that, you have to execute your plans. You can’t just complain about losing a match because of pitches. We prepared them according to our plans, but results didn’t go our way” Babar said at the post-match press conference.

It was the Kiwis who were on the front foot in both Test matches. They needed 77 runs with nine wickets in hand on the final day of the first Test. In the second, the visitors needed just one wicket to win. In both the Test matches, the hosts were saved from a defeat by bad light.

Speaking about the second Test, after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s dismissal in the 87th over of the innings, Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah batted out 21 balls in the last 15 minutes of the final day’s play before umpires offered bad light to the batters. The home side was lucky on both occasions and there were happy to the draw.

“We’d planned to go after it at tea, and you have to take risks for that. At the time, we needed 4.5, for which you need to take chances, which can lead to dismissals. If we’d got out, you’d be asking very different questions” said Babar.

Forming A Team Takes Time: Babar Azam

Pakistan Cricket Team — Photo Credit: (PTI)

Babar concluded by saying that the Pakistan Test team is a promising one and the team will learn from its mistakes. He also pointed out the importance of fitness in an era of continuous cricket for the national side.

“We’re trying to learn from our mistakes. Everyone has their own opinions but we have to focus on our performance. Forming a team takes time. Our Test side was very good, but suddenly there were a few injuries, which disturbed our players and altered the form of our side. We’ve tried to do our best but it just hasn’t worked out. We’ll look at whether to have Test specialist players in the future. There’s so much cricket if you want to play all three formats you’ll have to be ultra-fit” Babar concluded saying.

Also Read: PAK vs NZ: Watch- Babar Azam’s Stern Response To Pakistani Journalist Questioning His Captaincy