LAHORE: Babar Azam Pakistan’s T20I skipper, believes that he was able to perform well in Tests because he worked on the mistakes he made in the format last year, Cricket Next has reported. Babar scored 616 runs in six Tests at an impressive average of 68.44.
“This year, I worked on improving the mistakes I made in the format and was able to overcome some of them which helped me make some runs,” Babar said as quoted by Cricket Next. “The more you play the longer format, the more you understand the nuances of the game and find your way.”
He said that the performance in the Test series against South Africa was a confident booster. “My innings in South Africa against Dale Steyn gave me great pleasure and confidence that I can get into the Test match zone. I also learned how to convert 60s and 70s into 100s, and then my century in Australia gave me confidence that I can make big runs in the format. I rate the century against Australia as my best innings of the year in Test format.”
Babar went on to say that he has also worked on giving match-winning performances. “I used to score runs earlier but sometimes I wasn’t able to give match-winning performances. I tried to improve on that aspect learned how to bat and win games under pressure, which was a big learning curve for me.”
Speaking on his performance in the Cricket World Cup, Babar recalled that he really enjoyed representing Pakistan in the mega event. “As a kid, I used to follow World Cups very keenly on television. When I got selected for the big event, I set a goal of doing something big and different.”
Pakistan’s T20I captain added that becoming the top batsman in the side has always been his priority and he was immensely satisfied on performing well in the World Cup. “My innings against New Zealand was my best in the tournament and it taught me a great deal of how to bat and bail the team out in a pressure situation.”
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