Babar Azam breaks silence on negative statements made against him

Peshawar Zalmi skipper, Babar Azam, is not bothered by negative statements made against him as his focus is only towards his game.

In a press conference on Saturday in Lahore, the Zalmi captain was asked how he remains calm and refrains from giving any negative reply despite getting criticised by current and former cricketers.

"You should always be positive but it is important not to be overconfident. I try to remain humble as I know where I have come from. I try to go ahead but only in cricket. I meet everyone with a smile," Babar said.

Babar opened about his upcoming clash with Shaheen Afridi, when Zalmi will take on Lahore Qalandars on Sunday in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.

"Whenever I play against Shaheen and Lahore Qalandars, I try to give my best. Everyone knows he is one of the best bowlers in Pakistan, and day by day, he is improving. It's challenging to play against him, but you get confident that you are playing the best bowler. You get to see competition between us," he said.

The 28-year-old also heaped praise on his current opening partner at Zalmi, Mohammad Haris, and explained how different he is from his opening partner in the national T20I side, Mohammad Rizwan.

"I enjoy with every player. You have to enjoy but perform too and play according to the requirements of the situation. There are times that I struggle so Rizwan steps up and vice versa," he said.

"Haris is a youngster and has a different style. He tries to dominate the opponent and the way he is giving us a favourable start is great. But he needs improvement as he gets out at 40 and I am trying to guide him and I hope there will be good results," he added.