Babar Azam praises his Peshawar Zalmi opening partner, saying he feels great opening a match with Saim Ayub
\nislamabad
\nPeshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam on Monday said he played at number three for the sake of Pakistan, however, he was personally not satisfied with that position.
\nTalking to media persons, after Zalmi routed Karachi Kings in a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match in Karachi, Babar said he had no pressure and whatever decision he took was in the best interest of the country.
\nFormer Pakistan skipper has long served as an opening batsman for the national side, but following criticism over alleged slow strike rate and the Pakistan Cricket Board management\u2019s decision, he started playing at one down.
\nHowever, this PSL season, he has been remarkable with Saim Ayub as his opening pair as he scored five half-centuries in 10 matches.
\nBabar praised his opening partner, saying he felt great opening a match with Ayub as they kept communicating about the match situation in the meantime.
\n\u201cThe way of my and Ayub\u2019s playing is different as we strategise (a match),\u201d he said.
\nThe Zalmi skipper said Ayub had become a proper all-rounder and in his form, his team had found an excellent bowling option.
\nHe apprised the media persons that initially they faced trouble in making a combination but later they overcame the issue.
\nTo a query, Babar said he did not pay attention to criticism for he gave performance in the stadium, so there was no need for somebody to tell him anything. \u201cI know my game and I try to enhance it every day,\u201d he said.
\nTo another query, he said he could not describe the pleasant feeling upon hearing people chanting \u201cBabar, Babar\u201d. \u201cIt feels great when people call my name,\u201d he added. He tried to provide people happiness through his performance, he maintained.
\nZalmi defeat Kings
\nPehsawar Zalmi defeated Karachi Kings by two runs in the last-ball nail-biting thriller at the National Stadium Karachi on Monday night.
\nAfter posting a 148-run target, Peshawar restricted Karachi to 145\/5. Babar\u2019s team reached the playoffs with 13 points, whereas Shan Masood-led Karachi stayed at fifth position with eight points. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Babar Azam praises his Peshawar Zalmi opening partner, saying he feels great opening a match with Saim Ayub islamabad Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam on Monday said he played at number three for the sake of Pakistan, however, he was personally not satisfied with that position. Talking to media persons, after Zalmi routed Karachi Kings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n