Pakistan captain Babar Azam had a rather unique reaction when a reporter asked him about his recent achievement of breaking another record previously held by Virat Kohli. Babar recently set a new record in T20 cricket by holding out to the top position for the longest time. Babar overtook Kohli's total number of 1013 days as the No. 1 T20-ranked batter to set a new world record.
During a press conference ahead of Pakistan's two-Test series against Sri Lanka, the captain was asked by the reporter about his achievement. This is how it turned out. "I have two questions to ask. My first question is... you recently broke Virat Kohli's record..." but before he could finish his question, a surprised Babar stopped and asked, "Which one?"
The reporter went on, "You have remained No. 1 in T20Is for the longest time." To it, Babar replied, "Alright". After listening to the question, Babar have his answer saying, "I would like to thank god. There is hard work involved and that is why I have been able to give good performances."
Pakistan, after their high-profile series against Australia earlier this year, will fly to Sri Lanka on July 6. They will play a three-day warm-up match, followed by the two Test matches starting July 16 and 24 respectively. Babar expects the pitches in Sri Lanka to play differently, which is why Pakistan have practiced on similar pitches as part of their training.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan, after their high-profile series against Australia earlier this year, will fly to Sri Lanka on July 6. They will play a three-day warm-up match, followed by the two Test matches starting July 16 and 24 respectively. Babar expects the pitches in Sri Lanka to play differently, which is why Pakistan have practiced on similar pitches as part of their training.
{{/usCountry}}"The conditions of Sri Lanka will be different and difficult, but we are prepared for the challenge. Spin pitches were specially prepared at the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) while practice matches were also played on similar kinds of tracks in Rawalpindi," Babar said.
"If the fast bowlers get less wickets in the match between Australia and Sri Lanka, it does not mean that our pacers cannot succeed either. Pakistan's pace battery has enough capacity to pressure the Islanders."