Babar Azam: “Mickey Arthur supported me a lot; he gave me a chance, he said you just play and don’t bring negative thoughts in your mind”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said former head coach Mickey Arthur supported him a lot by giving him many chances.
Azam noted that Arthur, who coached the national team from 2016 to 2019, told him to play his natural game and not have any fear.
He also advised the 28-year-old to banish all negative thoughts from his mind and maintain a positive approach and attitude.
Arthur’s faith in Azam definitely paid off as he has become one of the top batsmen in the world in all three formats.
“Mickey Arthur supported me a lot; he gave me a chance, he said you just play and don’t bring negative thoughts in your mind,” the Pakistan skipper said in an interview with former England captain Nasser Hussain as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
“The turnaround moment that in the series against West Indies, I scored three consecutive centuries and then I started and gradually became a professional cricketer.”
Azam is currently in action in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he is captaining the Peshawar Zalmi.
In the six matches he has played, he has amassed 178 runs, which includes two half-centuries, at an average of 35.60 and a strike-rate of 128.05.
Next up for the Zalmi will be a clash against the Lahore Qalandars on Tuesday.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 8: Babar Azam, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Salman Irshad, Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Danish Aziz, Arshad Iqbal, Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir, Suifyan Muqeem, Haseebullah, Jimmy Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail, Richard Gleeson (partial replacement for Rovman Powell), Peter Hatzoglou (partial replacement for Mujeeb ur Rahman), Shakib Al Hasan (available for playoffs), Azmatullah Omarzai
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