In the pre-departure press conference, a reporter pointed out fatigue and injuries to the top Pakistan cricketers and said they were probably one of the main reasons behind their defeat to Sri Lanka in the second Test match. In reply, Babar said all the current Pakistan cricketers are fit enough to play all three formats of the game.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam responded brilliantly to a journalist’s question about whether top stars like him, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi should play only two formats to reduce workload. The question was posed ahead of Pakistan’s departure for the Netherlands, where they will play three One-Day Internationals beginning August 16. This will be Pakistan’s final white-ball match before the Asia Cup, which begins on August 27 in the UAE. During the pre-departure press conference, a reporter mentioned fatigue and injuries among Pakistan’s top cricketers, claiming that they were likely one of the main reasons for their defeat to Sri Lanka in the second Test match. In response, Babar stated that all current Pakistan cricketers are physically fit enough to play all three formats of the game.
THE CONVERSATION
This is how the conversation took place between Babar and the reporter in the press conference
Journalist: You, Rizwan and Shaheen are the stars, pride of Pakistan cricket. Like we lost the second Test against Sri Lanka, kya aap ko nahi lagta ki hum depressed the, workload aap logo pe zyada tha? (Don’t you think the players were depressed, the workload was more?) So won’t it be a good idea if you people play only two formats?
Babar Azam: It depends on your fitness. Abhi jis tarha hamari fitness hai, abhi aisa socha nahi hai ki hum do format mein aa jaye. Aapko kya lagta hai main budha ho gaya hu? ya hum budhe ho gaye hai? (The kind of fitness that we have, I don’t think we should limit ourselves to two formats. Do you think I have become old?)
Journalist: Load zyada par raha hai na (The workload is much more)
Babar Azam: I don’t think so. Agar load zyada hai toh us hisab se fitness badhayange hum (If load is more then we will increase our fitness levels)
Babar Azam has been in stellar form recently in all three formats of the game. He is in fact, the only cricketer to rank in the top three in ICC rankings for batters in all three formats. He is holding the top spot in ODIs and T20Is and is at number three behind England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne in Test cricket.
When asked whether he will be eyeing to break new records against a considerably weak Netherlands side, Babar said his only aim is to win matches for his team.
“I never go out to bat thinking about records. My only aim is to contribute and win matches for Pakistan,” he added.