Srinagar, May 19: Pakistan’s new ODI captain Babar Azam Monday said that he wants to adopt veteran Imran Khan’s style to lead the team to new heights.
Babar was recently given the task, replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed, who struggled to produce results lately. As the batting epitome is set to take the captain’s job, he wants to leave no stone unturned.
“When you are captaining, you need to have a bit of a cool mind, you’ve to carry your team along, you’ve to be methodical with your plans against the opposition to get them out,” Cricbuzz quoted Babar as saying.
“You have to be a little controlled, inside you may feel angry but you have to be in control. I learnt this in under-19 [cricket]. In the ground, you may have to tone down the aggression and give the players confidence. If you back your players 110%, they’ll do that well. I want to be an attacking captain. I want to adopt the Imran Khan style.”
The 25-year-old said he was grateful to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the opportunity and would want to improve the team’s ranking.
“I’m grateful to the PCB for naming me as ODI captain,” Babar said. “I’ve captained the U19 as well as the T20I team in the past. When I look at our rankings in the formats, it is not acceptable for me and my task is to bring that up to the top-3. Misbah bhai called me and congratulated me for getting the ODI captaincy. PCB thought I was ready and they gave it to me. I’m ready.”