KARACHI: Islamabad United’s batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has revealed that he had a chat with Pakistan and Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam before Thursday’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) game between the two sides.
Gurbaz, who scored 62 off 31, said he was focused on how Babar was batting in first innings and then applied what the latter suggested him ahead of the game.
“See as a cricketer, you have to learn every day, every time, and in every league. I was talking to Babar Azam before the match. I asked him what is his mindset before the game and how it is when he comes to crease, he shared some experience with me” he said.
“Earlier, I was trying to hit every ball but today I saw Babar Azam’s batting as well when he was in. I was just focused on that how can he rotate the strike and how he hits the boundaries. I think I applied what Babar had said that's why I scored and also I'm happy for my batting,” the Afghanistan cricketer said.
Gurbaz added that he was usually aggressive and would try to hit every ball but Babar suggested him to respect to the good deliveries and focus on bad balls.
“Today, the one thing that I changed in my batting was that I also focused on some strike rotation as well before I was just trying to hit too hard and you know take some advantage from the circle but today my focus was also in some cricket good cricket shots not only power so yeah, as I mentioned that we are we had chat about it before the match me and Babar. I just applied that it helped me a lot,” he said.
Replying to a question, Gurbaz said that the quality of cricket in PSL is also a little bit different than other leagues because of the bowling quality it has to offer.
“I think this is a good for me to take some experience from here to share with my teammates back home. Yeah, I'm so excited I enjoy my time here,”
“I think this is very helpful to us, all Afghan players, because we have a series with Pakistan after the PSL. So yeah, I can say that it will be a good experience to adjust with the pace and get used to some Pakistan bowlers,” he concluded.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.