In a podcast published on Sunday, the captain of the Pakistani men’s cricket team, Babar Azam, discussed the highs and lows of 2022 and praised the national team for their excellence in white-ball cricket. He said his favorite game was against India, which Pakistan easily defeated by 10 wickets in Dubai.
In a special episode of the Pakistan Cricket Board podcast, Bismah Maroof, the captain of Pakistan’s women’s national cricket team, joined Azam.
For the two teams, the previous year was extremely busy on the global stage. The men’s team participated in 44 games, while the women’s team took part in 32.
Azam, who appeared in all 44 internationals and finished as the most successful batter in the world with 2,598 runs, recalled the team’s achievements when asked to reflect over 2022.
“Our performances in white-ball cricket upstaged our achievements in red-ball cricket,” he maintained. “We reached the finals in the UAE and Australia, and though we didn’t perform the way we had expected in red-ball cricket, three sides that rank above Pakistan played in the country which provided us a huge learning opportunity helped us entertain our fans.”
“In T20 cricket, my favorite match was the win against India in the repeat fixture of the Asia Cup as it was a crucial game for us in terms of a place in the final,” he continued. “In Test cricket, victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle was outstanding as we chased down 342 for the loss of six wickets on a difficult track. Abdullah Shafique was magnificent in the second innings when he scored 160 not out.”
The women’s team performance was also reflected in the ICC Player of the Month awards when Tuba Hassan (May), Nida Dar (October) and Sidra Ameen (November) won international recognitions.
