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 as 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 off 224 balls and became the 13th Pakistani batsman to score a century on their debut Test. He is the first batsman to do so 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 the chance."

He said, "I waited patiently because I knew I would get a chance. I think years of hard work in domestic cricket has given me the skill 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 his (Babar's) place but I think my desire to succeed eliminated that pressure."