Credit: Twitter
Babar Azam, who is set to lead the Pakistan cricket team in the Test series against Sri Lanka this July, was in the midst of an all-happening press conference on July 6, Thursday, before their departure to the island nation. When a journalist questioned the 28-year-old about playing the former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed only as a batsman in the Pakistan Test side, he hilariously responded about him not playing in the team without fulfilling the responsibility of being a wicket-keeper.
Pakistan are scheduled to take on Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series, which is going to be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. The first Test will be played at the Galle International Stadium in Galle from July 16, while the second Test will commence at the Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo from July 24.
During the press-conference, Babar Azam was asked by a journalist about how tough it would be to pick both Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the first XI of Pakistan team for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, while referencing to him that either Rizwan could be the first choice or Ahmed could play only as a batsman. It led to Azam funnily saying about Ahmed, “Aapko lagta hai wo as a batsman khel sakte hai? (Do you think he can play only as a batsman?).”
Watch the video here:
Hearing the response from the Pakistan captain, the journalist asked him about his choice, to which Babar Azam stated, “Dekhe choice dekhe abhi batana too early hai, jaise Saifi bhai ke baare mein aapne baat ki, last series bahut achi kheli, meri koshish ye hogi ki pehli choice wo hi honge (See, it’s too early to state the choice, as you talked about Sarfaraz Ahmed’s quality performances in the last Test series, I will try to have him as our first choice).”
Babar Azam talks about picking the best possible Pakistan XI against Sri Lanka in Tests
“Lekin koshish karenge ki waha jaa ke dekhe kis combination ke saath khelenge, kya batting lineup hogi hamari, to koshish karenge ki best XI hogi uske saath jaayenge (But, we will try to see the combination of the team upon reaching there, we will try to go in with the best possible XI).”
