After dragging his team Peshawar Zalmi to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) title as the captain and the top scorer in the league, Babar Azam has shut down talk that he could focus on select formats. In his press conference after Zalmi won the PSL 11 title — thanks to a five-wicket victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen — Babar cut short a reporter’s question asking him if he would focus on specific formats.
‘Tension na lein, teeno format kheloonga (Don’t stress, I will play in all three formats),’ Babar told the journalist after interrupting his question.
Babar then continued: “It’s not for the player to decide [which format to skip]; a player’s job is to play. In my opinion, every player should play every form of cricket. You shouldn’t focus only on the white ball or T20s. Red-ball cricket gives you immense experience. It teaches you how to build an innings and gives you patience. When you play four-day cricket or any domestic circuit, you gain the experience of scoring ‘long’ runs. You should play all three formats because each one helps the other. Red ball helps you in T20s and ODIs. When you play Test matches, the patience and mindset you develop—the art of playing a long innings—benefit you significantly in white-ball cricket.”
Babar was also asked about finally leading a PSL team to the title.
“Better late than never—sometimes things come to you late, and sometimes they happen quickly,” Babar said.
The batter scored 588 runs in the season from 11 games to emerge as the top scorer. He was also the only batter to score two centuries in PSL 11.
Babar also spoke about not living up to the expectations he had of himself.
“As far as batting is concerned, I definitely couldn’t deliver according to the expectations I had for myself. But these things happen. Sometimes, you aren’t able to execute your plans exactly how you wanted once you get out there. You try everything, but things just don’t go your favor,” Babar said.
“In those moments, what you do is try to take two steps back and look at yourself. You analyze your mistakes and try to rectify them. That’s what I did. During that phase, the people closest to me provided immense support. You really need that support during such times. My family and close friends motivated me and kept talking to me about my ‘best abilities.’ I also tried to repeat the things I do best. I spoke with my coaches, had discussions, and worked on my game. Look, things move like a rollercoaster; life is never a stable, flat line. You learn, you do well, and you do poorly. That’s just part of life.”
Reflecting on the T20 World Cup and the shift to PSL, Babar said: “Look, when we came back from the World Cup, I hadn’t performed according to expectations. As a player, you feel a bit down. But again, there was very little time—I only had about ten days. During that time, I sat down and looked at my mistakes and where my game plan seemed to be shifting. I worked on my technique and my mindset.
“For this PSL (Pakistan Super League), my goal was simply this: I will play my natural game and stick to my cricketing shots. I decided to execute whatever the pitch conditions, the match situation, and the team demanded of me,” Babar added.
