LAHORE - Sahibzada Farhan has embraced the responsibility of leading Pakistan, describing his appointment as an honour and revealing the personal significance behind his elevation to the national captaincy.
“It is an honour to captain Pakistan for the first time in a home series. I am very much excited for this new challenge,” Farhan said while speaking to the media on the eve of T20I series opener. “Obviously, there is pressure of captaincy because you are leading the side and you have to show a different mindset,” he said. “I have captained previously in domestic cricket, so I have an idea of leading the side.” Farhan revealed that becoming Pakistan captain was not something he had expected, making the achievement particularly meaningful. “I never imagined myself as Pakistan captain,” he said, recalling that his father had always prayed that he would one day lead the national team. “Parents’ prayers really do come true.”
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The new captain said: “To send a positive message to teammates, a captain must lead by example with strong individual performances,” he said, adding that he was confident in his own batting and hoped supporters would enjoy his leadership style. He expressed complete faith in the players, saying: “I have complete confidence in the players selected in the current squad. The presence of senior players will greatly assist me on the field.”
Farhan also outlined his philosophy, saying: “We want to imply a T20 mindset. If you see our top order, which includes Fakhar Zaman, Maaz Sadaqat and Hasan Nawaz, they have a similar playing style to mine. I have got the team I wanted.” He added: “I have played a lot under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy, and I really liked his leadership.” He also paid tribute to Babar and Rizwan, declaring: “Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are the best players in the world. Both can return to T20 cricket at any time.”
Azhar Khan is an accomplished senior sports journalist with extensive experience in the field. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @azharmasood786
Azhar Khan is an accomplished senior sports journalist with extensive experience in the field. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @azharmasood786