Pakistan batter Babar Azam will lead an 18-member squad for the Ireland and England series as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the team on Thursday.
Addressing the press conference flanked by Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Yousuf said: “Usama Mir and Zaman Khan have been dropped for the series. Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali have replaced Usama Mir and Zaman Khan.”
Speaking about the injury of Mohammad Rizwan, Yousuf said: “There is quite improvement as far as Mohammad Rizwan’s injury is concerned. The national team is ready to play on any wicket and against any opposition.”.
“Both Mohammad Rizwan and Irfan Khan are getting better,” said Yousuf.
Yousuf said: “There are very few players on the team who play sweep shots. These are things that we will have to fix. Nothing will be beneficial for us if there is a fear of defeat. We will have to play cricket without any fear.”.
He acknowledged the role of Babar Azam as the captain, saying, “It was in the captaincy of Babar Azam that we played the finals of Asia Cup 2022 and ICC T20 World Cup 2022”.
“Nobody becomes captain by birth. But one needs to learn the skills of becoming a captain. The way Babar Azam is leading the team, you will witness positive change in the team,” Yousuf maintained.
