Pakistan captain Babar Azam has admitted that his team needs to strike a judicious balance between playing a proactive brand of cricket and adapting to situations when it needs to employ a defensive approach.
Pakistan’s go-slow batting approach during their last home series against Australia was criticised as Babar’s men couldn’t for once score at a rate of more than three runs per over in all the innings played during the three games.
“We are trying to change the way we play Test cricket. Not easy for batters when the other team is dominating you,” Babar said ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming World Test Championship tour of Sri Lanka.
“We want to play positively irrespective of the situation but it is only on a given day that we can decide how to win the match and our strategy,” Babar said.
The Pakistan skipper, however, reminded everyone that Test cricket demands that teams respect situations and adapt accordingly.
“But you must remember that the beauty of Test cricket is about adapting according to the situation. You can’t go for quick runs if the opposition is on top,” he said, while accepting that there is a lot of room for improvement.
The 27-year-old is well aware that they will be challenged by Sri Lanka on spinner-friendly tracks. “We have been following their recent Tests also against Australia and you can see spinners are dominating. But we have prepared as per their conditions and we have capable spinners in Yasir Shah, Nauman Ali, Nawaz to counter the conditions,” Babar said.
He is confident that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Co. will do well even if the tracks are unresponsive for fast bowlers. “I also have confidence in my fast bowlers, they will dominate also. Every team is dangerous on their home turf. Sri Lanka are a young team they know their conditions well and they cannot be taken lightly,” the skipper pointed out.
The Pakistan squad leaves for the island nation on Wednesday for the two-Test series.