Captain Babar Azam expressed his concern of unavailability of a batting coach with the side by stating that the Men in Green should have had one but the decision to appoint a batting coach rests with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The skipper, in a virtual presser from Chittagong described that the pitches in Bangladesh are slow.
The captain spoke about the team’s performance by stating that he expects them to perform well in the series.
“The batting line-up includes senior players who play spinners well. The players joining the Test squad were playing domestic cricket and we will benefit from this,” he stated.
Azam went on to praise the Test team, saying that he was confident they will perform well in the Test Championship as “there are more matches at home grounds”.
He further added that this Test series is also important for Pakistan, adding that the team will try to keep up the winning momentum [from the T20 series].
Babar Azam further stated that the team got less time to prepare for Test cricket after the T20 World Cup. However, he said the cricketers are professionals and will have to adjust to Test cricket soon.
“We have been playing white-ball cricket for many months now we have to adapt to red-ball cricket as soon as possible, we have top spinners in the team,” he said.
He stated that the Bangladesh team is a dangerous side even in the absence of senior players. Azam said they cannot be taken lightly as conditions are difficult in Bangladesh.
“It is not easy to play here. We have to focus and play with patience, we will also try to stay on the wicket.”
When asked about his below-par performance during the recently concluded T20 series against Tigers, Babar Azam said it is not necessary for him to perform well in every series. Other team members will also have to step up, he added.
“It is good that other batsmen took responsibility and scored runs,” he said.
It is to note that Aussie batting legend Matthew Hayden was appointed by the PCB as batting consultant for the T20 World Cup. He was hired after Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younus stepped down from their coaching roles in September.
The first Test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh starts tomorrow in Chittagong.
