Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Babar Azam is keen on seeing the national side improve its rankings across all formats.

While talking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview, the prolific right-hander spoke about the importance of creating a solid team. 

“Pakistan’s rankings in Test, ODIs and T20Is is not acceptable and we will try our best to improve that,” said Azam. “We are also need to focus on making a good team rather than just relying on individuals.”

The 25-year-old was also disheartened to be away from cricket for the past two months due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Obviously when you are playing cricket regularly, it becomes disheartening to stop all of a sudden,” he said. “We do whatever when can to maintain fitness and practice at our home.”

“We miss playing cricket and I’m sure the fans do as well,” he added. “It’s disappointing that we have been in lockdown for the past couple of months because we were looking forward to the cricket planned during the year. We had important Test matches as well as the T20 World Cup.”

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Speaking about the upcoming tour of England, Azam reiterated that human life is more important than cricket.

“Human life has far more value than cricket and PCB will only go ahead with the tour if proper health and safety measured are put in place,” he said.

Pakistan plans to send a 25-man squad to England in July to meet the demands of playing an entire tour in a ‘bio-secure’ bubble.

Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests in August followed by an equal number of Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), with the matches taking place behind closed doors as part of measures to combat Covid-19.

Azam also spoke about playing behind closed doors while comparing it with Pakistan’s matches in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“Playing behind closed doors is not ideal because the support from fans is vital for players,” he said. “We have played without crowd for almost a decade in UAE so we know how it feels.”

The Lahore-born is also eager to meet Pakistan Prime Minister and legendary all-rounder Imran Khan, in the future.

“I have not met Imran Khan yet but I would like to meet him and talk about his tactics on the field, especially during the 1992 World Cup,” he said. “I’m sure that will be beneficial for me.”

Azam was also glad to see the Pakistan Super League (PSL) taking place in Pakistan this year.

“I’m thankful to the PCB for organizing PSL in Pakistan this year, which I thoroughly enjoyed and I’m sure the fans did as well,” he said about the league which was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19 before the playoffs round.

FULL INTERVIEW