Young Pakistani batsmen relishing chance to make home debuts
Azhar Ali, Nasir Jamshed and Adnan Akmal have not played international matches in Pakistan since their debut.
LAHORE:
Batsmen Azhar Ali, Nasir Jamshed and Adnan Akmal are excited ahead of Bangladesh national cricket team's short tour to Pakistan, giving them the opportunity to play international cricket in their own backyard for the first time.
"It's been a long time, three years, we have waited for a chance to play in front of our crowd in our own arena and we are really excited ahead of the tour," they told APP on Tuesday.
They said playing in their own grounds has its own significance since it adds to the confidence of a player because playing in front of their own crowd is always exciting as they generously cheer them on.
"It is like a dream coming true to play in Gaddafi stadium as we waited quite long time to play international cricket on our own soil," they added.
They said it the tour bodes a good omen for Pakistan cricket since the Bangladesh team is visiting, regardless if it is for even for a single one-day international and T-20 game.
"What is important is the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan where no such activity took place for the past three years and we played all our home series at neutral venues," they maintained.
They said that they would endeavour to display their best abilities and play their due roles in lifting the overall performance of the team against Bangladesh, which is fully capable of upsetting any fancied opponent.
"Playing abroad at neutral venues has its own impacts as some times it hampers the performance of players and the ranking of the team and if we play at home we have the advantage to perform better and to help improve the ranking of our team," they asserted.
"It is going to be our debut in our arena as we have played our cricket outside Pakistan, since our international debuts," they said.
They said they look forward to playing some exciting cricket and are confident that the Pakistan team will win against Bangladesh.
"It is not going to be easy at all, we have to be at our best to defy a strong Bangladesh challenge," they added.
Batsmen Azhar Ali, Nasir Jamshed and Adnan Akmal are excited ahead of Bangladesh national cricket team's short tour to Pakistan, giving them the opportunity to play international cricket in their own backyard for the first time.
"It's been a long time, three years, we have waited for a chance to play in front of our crowd in our own arena and we are really excited ahead of the tour," they told APP on Tuesday.
They said playing in their own grounds has its own significance since it adds to the confidence of a player because playing in front of their own crowd is always exciting as they generously cheer them on.
"It is like a dream coming true to play in Gaddafi stadium as we waited quite long time to play international cricket on our own soil," they added.
They said it the tour bodes a good omen for Pakistan cricket since the Bangladesh team is visiting, regardless if it is for even for a single one-day international and T-20 game.
"What is important is the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan where no such activity took place for the past three years and we played all our home series at neutral venues," they maintained.
They said that they would endeavour to display their best abilities and play their due roles in lifting the overall performance of the team against Bangladesh, which is fully capable of upsetting any fancied opponent.
"Playing abroad at neutral venues has its own impacts as some times it hampers the performance of players and the ranking of the team and if we play at home we have the advantage to perform better and to help improve the ranking of our team," they asserted.
"It is going to be our debut in our arena as we have played our cricket outside Pakistan, since our international debuts," they said.
They said they look forward to playing some exciting cricket and are confident that the Pakistan team will win against Bangladesh.
"It is not going to be easy at all, we have to be at our best to defy a strong Bangladesh challenge," they added.