Azhar Ali hopes full-strength Australian team will tour Pakistan

Pakistan Test batter and former captain Azhar Ali hopes that a full-strength Australian team will tour Pakistan, and they are working very hard to what will be an exciting Test series.  

Speaking in Lahore, Azhar said that it is a matter of happiness that Australia is touring Pakistan after a gap of 24 years, and this visit is vitally important for Pakistan cricket. 

"We will try to be good hosts and the Australian team will have good memories," Azhar stressed. 

Meanwhile, the veteran batter is further hopeful that a full-strength Australian team will visit the country for the tour which is scheduled to be played in March. 

"The matches are very significant as they will be part of the ICC Test Championship, so I think that whole team will be touring." 

Azhar elaborated: "I think that the Australian players will also be excited to come to Pakistan, and star players like Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and David Warner would like to see our youngsters, and they will also be an inspiration for our youngsters and fans alike. The stronger the Australian team comes to Pakistan, the better the series will be."

Pakistani cricketers have bagged major ICC Awards 2021 in different categories with Mohammad Rizwan winning the ICC T20 Cricketer of the year award, Babar Azam ODI player, and Shaheen Shah Afridi Cricketer of the year awards.

Regarding the accolades, Azhar said: "It is indeed a proud moment for Pakistani cricketers to receive ICC Awards. The entire team is happy and fans are also excited that so many of our players have received awards."

"We have faced big challenges for ten or fifteen years, we have been playing abroad, there have been many difficulties but still, our national cricketers have played well," he stressed.

"Players like Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan have done superbly well, which shows that our fighting spirit remains high even in difficult situations, so we will try to perform well this year as well and win more awards"

He added: "The common thing among these three cricketers is their thrust for improvement. They just forget the past and fight as well as accept the next challenges."

Azhar said that apart from the individual performance, now the effort is being employed to take the Pakistan Cricket on the number one spot in the three forms of the game. "We have got a good start in the Test Championship, we will try to maintain it."

Azhar, who has also played for Lahore Qalandars in PSL, hopes that the team will perform well in this year's blockbuster T20 competition.  

"So far, Qalandars haven't been able to win the title, but I hope this time around, they will play well and win. At the beginning of PSL, the toss and balance of the teams will play a huge part," he concluded.