'It's not acceptable' - Babar Azam expresses his disappointment over Pakistan's ICC rankings across all formats

A few days back, Babar Azam was appointed as the ODI skipper of the Pakistan cricket team. It is not something which people didn’t anticipate, but the role could be overwhelming for the 25-year-old. However, up until now, the batsman has shown some great confidence upon his appointment. A few months ago, he was appointed as the T20 skipper as well.

After receiving full-time captaincy of the white-ball side, Azam has expressed his disappointment with the ICC rankings of Pakistan. The team holds the seventh, sixth and fourth position in the Test, ODI and T20I rankings at this moment. Until a year ago, the side was the No. 1 T20I side under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed.

‘We will try our best to improve’: Babar Azam

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

The Lahore-born batsman also explained that this lockdown has been quite difficult for players who like training a lot. Babar also said that the break was something which was required by him. He also pointed out that the national side wanted to sit and access series which are left to play this year.

“Obviously when you are playing cricket regularly, it becomes disheartening to stop all of a sudden,” said Babar. “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,” added Babar.

Babar had also expressed his willingness to play again in Pakistan. He credited the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for having PSL this year. The newly-appointed captain is eager to make certain tactical moves which were similar to Imran Khan, who was the captain of the World Cup 1992.

“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.”