Reviewing 2022, Pakistan men's cricket team skipper Babar Azam said the side's performances in white-ball cricket upstaged the achievements of red-ball cricket. The men's side played a total of 44 international matches comprising nine Tests, nine ODIs and 26 T20Is.
Under Azam, Pakistan reached the finals of the T20 Asia Cup in the UAE and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. They also hosted Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand (currently), but did not win a Test match at home in 2022.
"Our performances in white-ball cricket upstaged our achievements in red-ball cricket. 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 ranked above Pakistan played in Pakistan that provided us a huge learning opportunity and also entertained our fans," said Azam in a special edition of the PCB Podcast.
Azam had a fantastic 2022 with the bat, playing in all 44 international matches and finished as the most successful batter with 2,598 runs across all formats. He added that his best moments from the year were winning over India in the Super Four match at Asia Cup T20 and emerging victorious in the Galle Test against Sri Lanka.
"In T20 cricket, my favourite 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. 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."
Azam has also earned nominations for ICC Men's ODI Player of the Year and ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year awards for 2022. Pakistan will now begin 2023 with the second Test against New Zealand at Karachi, starting from Monday.