LAHORE-Pakistan stand-in Test captain Muhammad Rizwan said on Thursday that the team has worked hard and vowed to provide a strong challenge to New Zealand in the Test series.
Talking to the sports journalists during a virtual media talk, Rizwan said: “The results are not in our hands, however, we practised hard for four hours today and our bowlers and batsmen look in good rhythm. We will try our best and give a good challenge to the Black Caps in the Test series ahead.”
In the absence of injured captain Babar Azam, wicketkeeper batsman Muhammad Rizwan will lead the side in the first Test against the hosts in Mount Maunganui. The stand-in captain was hopeful that they would do better in the longer format while comparing the Test squad with the T20I’s. “Our Test squad is more experienced than the T20I one. Our batting line-up is strong with likes of former skipper Azhar Ali, opening batsman Shan Masood and talented batsmen Fawad Alam and Haris Sohail in it.
“Fortunately, our batsmen got a chance to bat in a four-day game for Pakistan Shaheens and benefitted from that,” Rizwan said. “Apart from our batsmen, we also have good bowlers in our side. With Test specialist bowlers like Muhammad Abbas, Yasir Shah and a young Shaheen Afridi, we are good to go against New Zealand,” he added.
The action Test captain said that the team would miss captain Babar Azam, who has been ruled out of first Test against New Zealand due to a thumb injury. “Captain Babar is a world class batsman and he is leading the national teams in all the three formats. The national side will definitely miss its superstar during the first Test against the hosts,” he asserted.
The wicketkeeper batsman, while praising captain Babar Azam as a good batsman as well as a good leader, said that despite his injury, he kept on helping the other batsmen during the training session. “Babar Azam was present in the ground and training despite his injury, where he shared his experience with all the batsmen and gave them useful tips, which wasn’t an easy task rather it would help the players excel against the tough hosts,” he added.
Pakistan will play their first Test against New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui from December 26 to 30 while the second Test will take place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from January 3 to 7.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
