Daily Times

LAHORE: Captain Babar Azam and vice-captain Shadab Khan, who will be in the leadership role for the first time in the ODI format, have vowed to play an aggressive and attacking brand of cricket when they start their stints with Pakistan’s first of the three ODIs against Zimbabwe on Friday at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. The three-match ODI series is part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League and acts as qualification round for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The second match will be played on November 1 with the third and final match taking place on November 3. Babar widely regarded as Pakistan’s best all-format player is the only batsman in the world to feature in the top five of ICC’s Rankings for batsmen across the three formats. Babar averages 54.17 in the ODI format having donned the Pakistan colours 74 times. His tally includes 11 centuries and 15 half-centuries.

Babar said in a statement: “To keep-up with the modern-day requirements of fast-paced cricket we need to be super fit. As the leaders of the group, both Shadab and I need to set an example with our fitness and commitment. We have a lot of cricket lined-up and the only method for us to regain our spot at the top of the rankings is aggressive and fearless cricket. We need to work on overall improvement in all three formats of the game. We are looking forward to starting the journey on a positive note with the series against Zimbabwe; it is an opportunity for us to please our fans who would not be able to watch us from the stands due to the Covid-19-related challenges.”

Shadab said: “We won’t be taking Zimbabwe lightly at all. We are fully focused on the job at hand and during the season we are very keen on improving both our game and fitness. Many players discuss fitness and how to improve in that area which is a positive sign indeed. For us each and every point in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matters. A convincing victory against Zimbabwe will hold us in good stead when we depart for the tour of New Zealand. We had an excellent build-up to the Zimbabwe series with the National T20 Cup. The tournament was highly competitive. ”