Pakistan captain Babar Azam has expressed his ambition to be a part of a World Cup team and to win the prestigious ICC tournament.
Two-time ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year Babar Azam has achieved almost everything possible in 50-over cricket over the last 24 months, but there is one more accolade the inspirational skipper is missing and dearly wants to achieve – leading Pakistan to the ICC Cricket World Cup title
Babar, who has done well in 50-over cricket over the last 24 months, is at the No.1 spot in the ODI Player Rankings, which he has held since July 2021, and named the ODI Player of the Year for the last two years.
During that time period, the right-hander batter has amassed a mountain of runs and his form has helped Pakistan remains one of the most competitive teams in one-day cricket as the Asian side has closed in on the No.1 team ranking.
But while the personal accolades continue to flood in for Babar, team success is ultimately what he really strives for and the 28-year-old gets the chance to achieve the ultimate later this year at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, set to be held in India later this year.
“The ambition is to be a part of the World Cup team and to win the tournament. The World Cup is coming up and my ambition is to perform well so that we can win it,” Babar told ICC Digital.
“You see a lot of things individually too, but my goal right now is to win the World Cup,” he added.
While Pakistan only played a total of nine ODI matches in 2022 — losing just once in that span to Australia at home — Babar’s side has a host of 50-over matches lined up over the coming months that will help them prepare for the World Cup.
A five-match series at home against New Zealand at the end of April and into May looms as the most immediate focus for Pakistan, with a three-game tour of Afghanistan and the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup — reverting to 50-over format again — all on the horizon prior to the World Cup.
While Babar has a good idea of what Pakistan’s best XI will look like at the World Cup, he knows there is plenty of cricket that will be played prior to the tournament that will determine the make-up of his side.
“This year we have a lot of white-ball cricket because of the World Cup…you need to take things to step by step. You can’t really jump to your goal. You have to achieve it step by step,” Babar noted.
“The mindset is to go step by step, but yeah you have it in the back of your mind that you need to perform well. But there is hard work and planning behind it,” he added.
