Pakistan's cricket One-day team captain, Azhar Ali on Saturday said he has accepted the captaincy of the cricket team as a challenge, and will come up to the expectations of the nation. Talking to newsmen here on Saturday, Azhar Ali said he has full confidence in the capabilities of the players and the new face team will perform its best during the upcoming series with Bangladesh.
"The young players included in the team had performed well in domestic cricket while they have shown their melt in the training camp," he said, adding: "Young players are working hard and would try their best to fill vacuum of seniors."
Azhar said young players are excited and want to do something for Pakistan and this will be a different side. He said the team is like a family and has to create a friendly atmosphere. "If you manage well you can apply any sort of approach rather only being aggressive. But they are responding exactly the way I wanted them to be," he said.
However, he said, "As a team everyone has a role. But yes, bowlers have definitely done well in the World Cup, so we are going to rely on them but it's important that batsmen should also feel the sense of responsibility."
When asked if is prepared to fill in the big boots of Misbah, Azhar said, "I have a big example of Misbah bhai who led Pakistan in a very tough time and how positively he led the team. There are a lot of things that might not have made it to the public, but being a team member I saw a lot of good things in him - how he handled situations. So this is going to help me. There are a lot of great captains around the world but for me Misbah is the best captain I have played with. It is tough to cover the gap but we certainly have to step up to take his place."
Azhar Ali said he understands the demands of modern cricket and hopefully the young team is set to match the level. The onus was on the batsmen to lift their games and support the bowlers who have been playing their part well, he said.
Azhar (30), who has played only 14 ODI matches, said he was improving, just like his team. "I understand cricket has changed a lot and obviously we do have to take our cricket forward in a positive way," Azhar said. Cricket these days is going fast and we are surely going to match the pace at the top level and it's important, he added.
Azhar's first assignment as captain is the Bangladesh tour that starts from April 13. Along with the coach Waqar Younis, Azhar led the six-day conditioning camp in Lahore and signed off with satisfaction and asserted that his team was ready. The team is reaching Bangladesh on Monday to play three one-day internationals, one T-20, and two Tests.
Talking about Bangladesh's performance in World Cup, Azhar said it was good and they looked a much-improved side. They are also tough in their conditions, so we are not going to take them lightly. There will be two teams fighting and I believe my young boys will perform well, he said.
Manager of Pakistan cricket team Naveed Akram Cheema told reporters on the occasion that boys are fit and hopefully team will come upto the expectations of the nation. He said team is expected to perform well in the upcoming tour against Bangladesh.
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