Babar Azam is still young and can register his name among great Pakistan batsmen: Mohammad Azharuddin

Since breaking on the international stage, Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket captain Babar Azam has emerged as one of the best modern-day batsmen. The right-hander’s exemplary records prove his worth as he has managed to score 3,359 ODI runs and 1,471 T20I runs in just 74 and 38 games respectively. Babar has also smashed 1,850 runs in the longest format of the game maintaining an average of 45.1

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin also believes that Babar can pave his way to becoming one of Pakistan’s greatest if he keeps delivering consistent performances. Commenting on the comparison between Babar and Virat Kohli, Azharuddin said that fans should enjoy the Pakistan stalwart’s batting rather than comparing him with his Indian counterpart.

Babar has a lot of cricket ahead of him: Mohammad Azharuddin

“Babar is still young and has a lot of cricket ahead of him. He has the ability to become a top batsman and register his name among the great Pakistani batsmen of the past,” said Azharuddin while speaking to Cricket Pakistan.

“I don’t believe in comparisons. If a batsman is good, then his batting should be enjoyed and he should be praised rather than comparing him with someone else,” he added.

India, so far, have had an edge over Pakistan in World Cup encounters. According to Azharuddin, who has led India in many thrillers against Pakistan, the pressure might be the reason behind the Men in Green sputtering in World Cup mega-events. Azharuddin further added that any future bilateral series between the arch-rivals depends on the political relations between the two countries.

“Pressure can be a reason. Out of three World Cup games against Pakistan in which I captained India, only the match in Bangalore was a high scoring encounter. In the other two games, Pakistan was chasing around 230 and lost early wickets.

If you lose early wickets in a World Cup game while chasing, then even a small target like 230 also looks like 300 or 350. We played positive cricket and performed in all departments, which is why we won those games. This decision depends on the government of both countries. Once talk resumes between both countries, only then a series can happen,” said Azharuddin.

Azharuddin also thanked Mohammad Younis for giving him credit. During Pakistan’s 2016 tour of England, Younis had sought Azharuddin’s advice before smashing a brilliant 218-run knock at the Oval.

“I want to thank Younis for giving me credit. I watched him bat on TV and he was playing in an ungainly way. Sometimes he was playing from outside the crease and sometimes he was trying other things. I didn’t like seeing a player, who has scored 10,000 runs, bat in this manner. So I just called him on the phone and advised him to stay still and play from inside the crease, as it will be easier for him,” recalled the former India skipper.