Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of the best pacers going around and him being ruled out of the Asia Cup was one of the major setbacks that the team received ahead of the marquee event. Ahead of the Asia Cup match against India on Sunday in Dubai, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said that his side will definitely miss the ace speedster and it would have been a different game if Shaheen had played the game.
“Shaheen is one of our best bowlers, he bowls with aggression and he leads the attack, so we will miss him. If Shaheen was there, it would have been a different game. But our other bowlers are also good, we have high confidence in the camp,” said Babar during a press conference.
Further talking about the match against India, Babar said: “The heat is not there. It is not normal, as professional you have to adjust to everything. For me, every match is important and as captain, it is my job to give 100 per cent and we just try to give our best. The T20 World Cup match has passed, it would be a new day tomorrow. You have the confidence, but it all boils down to the game day.”
When asked about Indian and Pakistan players interacting with each other during practice, Babar said: “As a sportsman, you try to meet different players. We have met everyone, it is normal. You try and talk to players about cricket and other things.”
“Everyone waits for the match between India and Pakistan. It is important to enjoy this game. Our bench strength is strong, injuries can happen, it is part and parcel. I have faith in every player,” Babar said about the upcoming match.
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Talking about his rise in the game as one of the best batters going around, Babar said: “Nothing is easy, but achieving the targets is up to you. There many great players in the world, so how you want to compete against them is up to you. There are ups and downs, how you handle them is up to you.”
The Asia Cup 2022 will get underway on Saturday evening with the Group B clash between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
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