Pakistan opener Babar Azam had an immense contribution in Pakistan’s comfortable win against Windies in the 2nd T20I which also sealed the series for his side.
Despite remaining unbeaten till the end and also helping his side to post their highest ever T20I score, Babar was on his way to the dressing room with a dejected look on his face as he felt short off scoring his first T20I hundred for just 3 runs.
Opening in a T20 and remaining unbeaten till the end, a batsman wants to make the most of it and with Babar, it was not different.
In the post match press conference, Babar admitted he was sad for failing to score a hundred and regrets for missing some balls which he could have hit for runs.
“I am very sad. I missed a few balls which played a role in missing out the century. I was discussing with Shoaib bhai whether I should take a chance or try to get to the century by running ones or twos. I misread a few balls and ended up missing the opportunity,” Babar said.
Despite playing some good knocks in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Babar was heavily criticized for his strike rate, but the batsman believes those innings gave him confidence to play big knocks.
“I scored fifties in the PSL but unfortunately my team did not win. We can say that our bowling also had a role to play in it. But, I got a lot of confidence by scoring those runs. I have brought that confidence here and applied myself.”
The batting style of Babar is not like a typical modern T20 batsman and the 23-year old batsman never tries to play innovative shots and sticks to his basics and plays his natural game. Babar wants to keep playing his natural game no matter which format it is.
“Whether the runs are coming down the ground or through cut shots, the runs should come. T20 cricket is not about big-hitting. My role is to play my natural game, not go out there and slog. My coach has instructed me to play my natural game and bat till the end. Our plan is that the team will play around me. But, when I feel that I have to go for power-hitting, I take my chances,” Babar concluded.