Won't take England lightly despite squad reshuffle: Babar Azam  

Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam, while talking at a virtual press conference on Wednesday, claimed that the Men in Green will not take England lightly during the upcoming series despite the last-minute reshuffle of the home side’s squad.  

England were forced to name a new and inexperienced ODI squad, yesterday, after seven members, including players and officials, tested positive for Covid-19.   

The 26-year-old, Babar, was adamant that his side will strive to play their best cricket regardless of the circumstances.  

“Our preparations in Derby were focused towards the first ODI. The English players are new but we have played with them. They are the number one side [in the world]. We will not take them easy and will try to play our best cricket,” Babar said.  

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“We will enter the ground with positive intent and trust our players. We have been working with our analysts to see what the new faces in the England lineup have to offer. We have seen videos of county matches. We will not make the mistake of thinking that our opposition is weak. We will form a strong playing XI after looking at the conditions. All new cricketers have been playing in their own conditions. We will have to come to the ground with good plans,” he added.  

The prolific batsman also praised the resolve of his teammates who had been playing under bio-secure bubbles for more than a year.  

“The situation is not ideal. The Coronavirus has caused several problems. I am trying to prepare the guys mentally. We will try to only focus on cricket. I give credit to the players who have spent more than a year playing in bio-secure bubbles. The PCB and ECB have emphasised that they will take care of us,” he said.  

“We were disappointed [about England’s last-minute squad change] but never thought about ending the series. We are ready to play,” he concluded. 

The first ODI between the two sides will be played tomorrow at Cardiff.