Babar Azam, Pakistan’s all-format captain, has stated that the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies at home is critical for the national team because it will play a key role in qualifying for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
While speaking at a news conference at the National High-Performance Centre (NHPC) ahead of the much-important series, Babar Azam emphasized, “The series is very important, we will try to win and get points.”
The three-match ODI series, which was postponed last year due to the emergence of Covid-19 cases, is part of the ICC ODI World Cup Super League, and winning the series will be crucial for World Cup qualification.
Answering a question regarding the hot weather Babar Azam stated that the series will be played in extremely hot weather, but all the players are prepared because they have been exposed to the heat in the conditioning camp.
The series was originally scheduled in Rawalpindi, but the Pakistan Cricket Board was forced to relocate the matches to Multan due to political unrest in the twin cities. The series will kick off on June 8.
When the national team skipper was asked whether he would give the chance to the wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Haris in place of Mohammad Rizwan, Babar said, “Rizwan is performing well and always backs me up and supports me.”
While speaking about Pakistan’s preparatory camp which will be held in Lahore from June 1 to June 4, Babar said, “Our training camp is starting from tomorrow while all the participants are very excited.”
It’s worth noting that the national team captain needs to score 98 more runs in the series to become the first batter to reach 1,000 runs in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
