Pakistan’s senior batsman Azhar Ali wants to see his country win the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Mace at least once in his career. He also wished for a victorious start for Pakistan in the WTC 2021-23 by claiming a win against the West Indies.
Pakistan will face West Indies in a two-match Test series, starting in Jamaica from August 12, which will kickstart both teams' campaigns in the new cycle of WTC and the former captain said it is greatly important for his team to start off well in the ICC Test Championship.
Azhar said at a virtual media conference, “The ICC World Test Championship is a valuable addition and has helped make this format more competitive. I want to see Pakistan win the Test championship in my career. Test cricket is the pinnacle format and this format is still entertaining fans around the globe. Fans in Australia, England, and New Zealand still wait for a Test match.”
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He added, “I think it is very important to start a new cycle of the WTC on a winning note. Last time we saw that if a team gets a lead, that brings other teams under pressure. I think it is a great opportunity for us, now that we have a home series against Bangladesh as well. We will try to avail of the opportunity. West Indies has always been a tough series. In these conditions, they always trouble the visiting sides. But we will try to play to our full potential and utilize our last experiences here.”
On the upcoming Test series, Ali said: “A Caribbean tour is never an easy one and we are preparing for the challenges ahead here in Guyana. The West Indies have a good bowling line-up but our batters are in a good shape. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are in good knick and they have shown their pedigree in the white-ball matches leading up to the Tests. Among the Test batters, Abid Ali and Fawad Alam are also performing consistently from the last couple of series.”
He signed off by saying, “I think West Indies have a good bowling attack, especially the seam attack. I think that it will be a good challenge for us batsmen but we have performed well against them in the past and will try to do well in the upcoming series as well.”
(With Geo Super TV Inputs)
