PAK vs ENG: “To play in place of Babar…”, Kamran Ghulam's statement after his debut century created a stir in world cricket.

Kamran Ghulam on Babar Azam: Pakistan batsman Kamran Ghulam, who scored a century in his debut Test against England here on Tuesday, said that there was a lot of pressure on him to perform well after replacing Babar Azam. He also said that his consistent performance in domestic cricket for the last four years has finally paid off. Ghulam's century came on a difficult wicket here due to which Pakistan scored 259 runs for five wickets on the first day of the second Test. Ghulam, who came to bat at number four in place of Babar, played a patient innings of 118 runs in 224 balls and became the 13th Pakistani batsman to score a century on debut Test. He is the first batsman to do this against England.

Ghulam said after the match, “It was disappointing to wait for almost four years to get a chance to play for Pakistan. I had a lot of passion and wanted to perform well whenever I got a chance.” He said, “I waited patiently because I knew I would get a chance. I feel that working hard over the years in domestic cricket has given me the skills to play on all types of pitches and against all types of bowlers.

Ghulam admitted that it was not easy to replace a player of Babar's stature. He said, “Yes, there was pressure to play in place of Babar but I think my desire to succeed took away that pressure.”