\u201cWe need to sit down and admit our mistakes,\u201d says skipper following 0-3 whitewash against England
\n Birmingham
\nPakistan captain Babar Azam on Saturday called for the national team to critically assess their shortcomings after suffering a 3-0 series whitewash against England in the recently concluded away Test series.
\nThe Green Shirts entered the series after a 1-1 draw against the West Indies but suffered a heavy innings-and-103-run defeat to England in Leeds.
\nPakistan then endured another gruelling loss at Lord\u2019s, prompting a mid-series overhaul in which seven players were replaced, along with head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul.
\nThe visitors showed greater resistance in the final Test, highlighted by debutant Razaullah\u2019s blistering half-century and Mohammad Abbas\u2019s two wickets in England\u2019s first over. However, Pakistan eventually lost by eight wickets.
\nThe result saw England complete their first-ever home Test series whitewash against Pakistan. Captain Babar Azam, who missed the opening Test through injury, urged the team to assess their performance and identify their strongest combination.
\nBabar, however, lauded the spirit shown by the youngsters in the series and affirmed that he would continue his second stint as the Pakistan Test captain.
\n\u201cWe need to sit down and admit our mistakes, and then work out our best XI,\u201d said Babar at the post-match presentation.
\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Babar on continuing as Pakistan Test captain. \u201cBut [in] different series you need players for the conditions, but the new boys have done well.\u201d
\nThe Pakistan captain also acknowledged that the touring side was high on belief following Abbas\u2019s early outburst in the final innings of the recently concluded third Test and dismissed the suggestion that the Green Shirts were missing a spin option, emphasising that the conditions were favourable for the pacers.
\n\u201cBelief was high with two wickets in the first over, but they played very well,\u201d Babar stated.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t think so,\u201d said Babar when asked about missing a spinner. \u201cThe conditions have been grassy and that\u2019s why we played with three fast bowlers.\u201d
\nThe skipper specifically praised debutant Razaullah, who picked up four wickets besides scoring 92 runs across the two innings in his maiden Test appearance, hailing the 21-year-old as a \u201cvery good talent\u201d.
\nAsked whether he had known much about Razaullah before the series, Babar admitted: \u201cNot too much, to be honest. I learned about his batting, as he came in as an opener [for Peshawar].
\n\u201cBefore we came here, we had to think about the team, and we made a couple of changes. Coming to England, it is difficult for the batters and fast-bowling group.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe need to sit down and admit our mistakes,\u201d says skipper following 0-3 whitewash against England Birmingham Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Saturday called for the national team to critically assess their shortcomings after suffering a 3-0 series whitewash against England in the recently concluded away Test series. The Green Shirts entered the series after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n