Babar vows no letting up as Pakistan strive for improvement

After last week’s lopsided opening Test, during which Pakistan completed their first innings victory over Zimbabwe while needing less than three days of playing time, skipper Babar Azam said on Thursday that winning is a great habit and as captain he expects no loose ends.

Addressing a virtual media conference from Harare on eve of the second Test, Babar promised no letting up while announcing a 13-man squad that includes uncapped pair of fast bowlers Tabish Khan, Haris Rauf besides the entire playing eleven that was on duty during the innings and 116-run victory in the first Test.

“Look, I think we are now beginning to get the results going our way after a spate of heartbreaking moments. To be rated among the best, one have to keep winning regularly,” said Babar, who is the first Pakistan captain to win all of his opening three Tests. “It was a total team effort in the first Test. Hasan [Ali and Fawad [Alam} played the lead roles while there were good performances from Shaheen [Shah Afridi] and Imran [Butt] as well as Abid [Ali].

“I’ve no complaints there but success breeds success, it is imperative that Pakistan built on this habit to challenge the top-ranked teams across all formats. But gradually we are working towards that goal, although there are issues pertaining to our middle-order batting in white-ball cricket — something I’ve already mentioned in the media recently.”

Reminiscing the 20202021 international season, Babar, who was dismissed for his first golden duck in Test cricket at Harare last week, expressed satisfaction while recalling the tough New Zealand tour where he was sidelined by a finger injury and missed both the Twenty20 International and the twomatch Test series.