Bowling great Wasim Akram lavished high praise on Pakistani skipper Babar Azam. He said the right-hander is catching up with the fabulous four – Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root – and Test Cricket needs batsmen like him.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has risen through the ranks of late and is right in between them compared to some greats in the game. In just a short span of time, he’s accomplished a lot and with the way he’s doing it, it’s fair to say that some major records will be in trouble.
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While there was never any doubt about his ability on a white ball, there were quite a few questions about his stature in Test cricket. But in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championships, he has cleared all doubts as he broke races for fun and put his team in strong positions.
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Speaking to the likes of Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri, during a show in the build-up to the ICC World Test Championship final, Wasim Akram highlighted how Babar Azam is there together with the Fab Four. He explained:
“All four Fab Four batsmen, Babar is now fifth. He is the youngest of the lot. If you look at the schedule for this World Test Championship, he has 1500 races, averaging 60, so he’s catching up with those legends, those icons.”
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ICC World Test Championship Final: “Babar Azam for Pakistan is like Brian Lara for West Indies,” says Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram went on to promote Babar Azam as a Test cricket icon along with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root. He made a big statement, saying that Babar Azam is like Brian Lara for the West Indies. He said:
“This game needs an icon, be it Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Williamson or Babar Azam; maybe I miss Smith from Australia too. They all average over 50 years of age and have been playing Test cricket for almost over ten years.
So icons are very, very important. Babar Azam is for Pakistan as Brian Lara was for the West Indies. He brings people to the stadium.”
In the 47 Tests so far, Babar Azam has scored 3696 runs at an average of 48.63 to go with 9 centuries and 25 half centuries. With the way he’s going, the numbers are expected to rise rapidly.
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