Last Update on: November 10th, 2023 at 10:32 pm
Pakistan National Cricket Team captain Babar Azam, who has been often accused of playing selfish innings, has said that he never plays for personal milestones and his aim is just to win matches for his side.
Babar Azam hasn’t performed quite well with the bat in the ongoing edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup. In 8 matches, he has scored 282 runs at an average of 40.28 and a poor strike rate of 82.69.
Speaking ahead of their final league stage match against England, Babar Azam admitted that he hasn’t been able to perform as per the expectations of fans, but made it very clear that he never plays for personal milestones.
“There were a lot of expectations from me and I couldn’t live up to them, I accept that. My goal was to finish matches, it was not to score fifties only but I still didn’t play for personal milestones,” Babar Azam said.
'There were a lot of expectations from me and I couldn't live up to them, I accept that. My goal was to finish matches, it was not to score fifties only but I still didn't play for personal milestones' – Babar Azam 👀 #CWC23 #PAKvsENG pic.twitter.com/QpzgAsyWKd
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) November 10, 2023
Many people criticized that I played with a slow strike rate – Babar Azam
The 29-year-old further responded to criticism he has received for his strike rate, saying that he always plays according to the situation.
“Pakistan received a lot of love and support in India. I never had a target to score my fifties. Many people criticized that I played with a slow strike rate, but the situation matters to me. I always played for the team,” Babar asserted.
He will be next seen in action when Pakistan face England in their last ICC World Cup 2023 group stage game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 11. The Men In Green need to pull off a miracle in their last game to overtake New Zealand’s Net Run Rate and seal a semi-final spot.
Talking about the England clash, Babar Azam said that they have plans in place regarding their Net Run Rate.
“We have planned regarding net run-rate against England. However, we cannot start blind slogging from ball one. We have planned how to play the first 10 overs and what to do after that. If Fakhar Zaman plays for 20-30 overs, we can achieve what’s required,” Babar said.
