Babar Azam more excited than nervous for big day

Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan (with cap) at a training session. Pic/AFP

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is "more excited than nervous" as he stands on the cusp of emulating the iconic Imran Khan. Pakistan take on England in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup at the MCG on Sunday.

"I'm more excited than nervous since we've performed well in our last three matches. It is no doubt that pressure exists but it can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves," Babar said on Saturday in a press conference.

He didn't hesitate in admitting that the pace quartet of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammed Wasim Jr and Haris Rauf are his side's strength.
"England is a competitive team but our strategy is to stick to our plan and using our pace attack as our strength to win the final," he said.

For Babar, emulating the class of 1992 [50-over World Cup winning team under Imran] will be an honour. "Yes. I believe we couldn't start off well but we came back with great momentum. We've been working really hard for this. It feels like a dream come true to reach the final."

Babar and his opening partner Mohammed Rizwan would like to seize the initiative in the first six overs. "Utilizing power play to grab as many wickets will be essential for the match. Even when you bat, you want to set a great pace for the upcoming batsmen.

"We will try to maintain and continuously build our momentum hence ensuring better performance," the skipper said.

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