Babar Azam targets a triple ton in the upcoming series against England
Pakistan's newly-appointed limited-overs skipper and one of their premier batsmen, Babar Azam, has stated that he is targeting a triple ton in the upcoming Test series against England.
Speaking in a teleconference from Worcestershire where the Pakistani team is currently observing a two-week long isolation period, Babar Azam opined that it is crucial to convert scores into really big ones, something he'd like to do in the three-match series:
“When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series,” said Babar Azam. “I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers.”
According to Babar Azam, winning the series is top priority
The right-handed middle-order batsman said that Pakistan's recent record on English shores have been really good and that winning the series would be the foremost priority for them:
“We performed well on our previous tour of England which is why players are eagerly looking forward to the series. We are currently focused on winning the Test series as that is our first goal on the tour."
"England have the home advantage but our bowlers will give a tough time to their batsmen. We will target their fragile Test top-order. Mohammad Abbas is experienced while Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi have a lot of potential. We have high expectations from our bowlers," Babar Azam added.
There has been some speculation around who would Pakistan select as their first-choice wicket-keeper with three front-line keepers available for them. Babar Azam, however, cleared the air around this debate, maintaining that Mohammad Rizwan is the automatic first-choice for Pakistan and will "get full chance during the Test series".
The 25-year old also insisted that people should stop comparing him with the Indian skipper and modern-day cricketing legend, Virat Kohli:
“I don’t want to be compared with Virat Kohli. It would be better if people compare me with one of the Pakistani legends like Javed Miandad, Mohammad Yousaf or Younis Khan."