Azam ‘praying first World Cup as captain’ goes ahead
WORLD number one Twenty20 batsman Babar Azam said on Monday (25) that he was praying the coronavirus pandemic would not scupper his first T20 World Cup as Pakistan skipper.
Australia are due to host the seventh Twenty20 World Cup in October and November, but organisers face challenges of providing appropriate bio-security and quarantine measures for 15 international teams.
Lingering travel restrictions could also hit the event, where 45 matches are scheduled to be played from October 18- November 15 in seven venues.
“It will be my first World Cup as skipper so I am praying for it and keeping fingers crossed,” Azam said in a virtual press conference.
“Not shining the ball, no celebrations during the match for social distancing – these things will be difficult to imagine when we again play cricket.”
The International Cricket Council
(ICC) will discuss the event at its board meeting in Dubai next week.
Azam added that he would not mind if games were played in closed stadiums, without fans.
“It would be tough to play without fans because they cheer along and back you up, but who knows better than Pakistan how to play without crowds,” said Azam.
Pakistan were forced to play before sparse crowds in the UAE, their neutral ground, in the aftermath of the 2009 terrorist attack against a visiting Sri Lanka team in Lahore. International cricket returned gradually to Pakistan from 2015, but it was only last year that the side managed to stage a Test at home after a gap of 10 years.
Azam, who is also his team’s ODI captain, vowed to improve Pakistan’s ICC rankings.
“We are now fourth in Twenty20, sixth in ODIs and seventh in Tests which is not acceptable and I want to see improvements in that,” Azam said.