Shoaib Akhtar has high hopes from Babar Azam to revive '90s brand of cricket' for Pakistan

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has pinned his hopes on the national side to excel soon in England. Pakistan is visiting England to play a 3-match Test series followed by a 3-match ODI series from July 30 to September 2, 2020. The series will be played behind closed doors. 

Also Read: Six Pakistan Players Tested Negative For COVID In Second Round To Fly To England On Friday

England vs Pakistan 2020: Shoaib Akhtar on Babar Azam and Pakistan Team 

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Shoaib Akhtar said that the team from the 1990s, which had the likes of Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Razzaq played with a certain level of aggression and he expects the current side to display that type of aggression. He also spoke about having a lot of expectations from ODI and T20I skipper Babar Azam and Haider Ali once the limited-overs series take place.

Apart from talking about Babar Azam, Shoaib Akhtar also spoke about Pakistan needing to play good cricket by making the right combinations after assessing the situation. He stressed on the fact that the team should not just play to draw the Test series but win it. Speaking about Pakistan's bowling attack, Shoaib Akhtar said that he wants the fast bowlers to go out and see their length as the aggression lies in the length and not in the pace. He further asked them to keep up the pace and test the skills of the English batsmen.

The former pacer also spoke about Pakistan's new batting coach Younis Khan, transferring his attitude to the youngsters. Shoaib Akhtar said that he wants to see Pakistan batsmen playing like Younis Khan and that he should transfer his courage, knowledge and experience to the youngsters.

Also Read: Babar Azam Fears Closed Doors Cricket Will Be Similar To Playing First-class Matches

England vs Pakistan 2020: Six Pakistan players to fly to England after testing negative

Six Pakistan players, which also includes Mohammad Hafeez, will be flying to England after testing negative for COVID-19. Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, and Wahab Riaz tested negativ as well in the latest round of testing conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar Says Mohammad Hafeez Should Have Confronted PCB After Messing His COVID-19 Report

England vs Pakistan 2020: Babar Azam reveals his feeling about playing matches behind closed doors 

With the series in England set to played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 crisis, Pakistan's ODI and T20I skipper Babar Azam recently said that playing behind closed doors in the post-corona world will be like playing a first-class match. While speaking to Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, Babar Azam said that it will be very difficult to realize the fact that there will be no one in the crowd. 

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar Tags Waqar Younis In Latest Tweet Despite Ex-Pak Captain 'quitting' Twitter

He also said that it will be difficult for teams to play in front of empty stands as playing the game in front of spectators is more enjoyable. Babar Azam reckoned that when kids come to watch, they also think and aspire to play at this level. He added that he will miss all these things.

(IMAGE: SHOAIB AKHTAR / PCB / INSTAGRAM)