Babar Azam motivates Pakistan pacers to not get bogged down due to Shaheen Afridi’s absence as they take on India in Dubai today.
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The stage is set, the fans all excited, and the players in all readiness, as team India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the first match of ‘Group A’ at the Dubai International Stadium today.
The build-up to the likely high-octane clash has been full of sweet gestures, as pictures and videos of the both the team players praising each other or being involved in friendly banters flooded the various social media sites.
As for the Indian camp, the focus will yet again be on their former skipper Virat Kohli, who is set to play his 100th T20I today, while returning back to cricketing action after a month gap. Skipper Rohit Sharma was pretty much happy with Kohli’s preparation and the intensity during the training session ahead of the match eve.
As for the Pakistan side, Babar Azam’s men had been handed a huge blow after their star left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a right knee injury. While his shoes are too big to fill, the players are undoubtedly confident on the rest of the pace attack to deliver today.
Babar Azam motivates Pakistan pacers
Speaking along similar lines today was skipper Babar Azam, who while admitting that Afridi’s absence might have left a noticeable void, but not deep enough to not stand a chance in front of the Indian batting line-up.
Post the training session on Saturday, Babar motivated his fast bowlers to bowl in a manner similar to Afridi’s intensity and aggressiveness, and make sure that his absence is not felt at all.
Earlier, while speaking to the entire unit, he also stated that nothing matters if the hard work put in during the practice sessions do not translate into similar performance on the field of play.
“I know that our main fast bowler (Shaheen) is not with us, but don’t let his absence be felt on the field tomorrow, fast bowlers especially. Keep the belief just like he (Shaheen) does whenever he has played for Pakistan all these years. Wish you all the best,” exclaimed Babar as he concluded the brief meeting.
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