Pakistan captain Babar Azam has urged his team to be aggressive and fearless in order to improve their record against the top teams in world cricket.
Pakistan’s recent tour of New Zealand saw them lose both the Test matches and the first two T20 internationals with their only victory coming in the inconsequential 3rd and final T20I in Napier.
Babar saw his team lose from the sidelines as he was ruled out of both series with a fractured right thumb which he suffered during practice before the start of the T20Is.
But the 26-year-old will be back in action for Pakistan’s historic home Test series against South Africa and wants his players to give nothing less than 100 per cent on the field.
“I want the team to play positive but aggressive and fearless cricket, especially in white-ball cricket if we want to challenge top teams.
“Usually we stop scoring runs if we lose one or two quick wickets and this is where I want the team’s mindset to change — even if you’ve lost two quick wickets, you must continue to add numbers to the scoreboard,” Azam told former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raza via the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) digital platform.
“We need to be good enough against top-quality sides if we want ourselves to be considered as a topside and for that, we need to win series against top teams,” the skipper added.
Pakistan are all set to host South Africa for a series of 2 Tests and 3 T20Is in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore from January 26 to February 14. The series marks the first time South Africa are touring Pakistan since 2007.
