‘Method captain’ Babar Hayat ready to make difficult team decisions as Hong Kong prepare for Kenya one-day series
The 24-year-old is embracing his new role in cricket, often having to distance himself from friends in the team
Babar Hayat is cricket’s equivalent to the method actor, taking his new role as Hong Kong captain beyond the boundaries to the extent that he has had to distance himself from friends within the team in order to make tough decisions.
Hayat, 24, recently took over the captaincy from Tanwir Afzal and was at the helm of his first home series against Papua New Guinea this week, with Hong Kong winning the one-day international series 2-1.
Hong Kong coach Simon Cook said Hayat, who scored 82 in the third game against PNG, is taking his role as skipper seriously. There were doubts about his availability after the first match because of a groin injury but the skipper recovered and played the remainder of the series.
“Babar Hayat is settling in well,” said Cook. “It’s not a case of him just walking across the white line first, there are quite a few things he’s had to take on and had to distance himself somewhat from the players because he has to make tough calls and leave his friends out from time to time.
“They are the sort of things that young captains struggle with early on. But he’s unbelievably determined to do well and extremely driven.