Babar Azam should be there in the IPL, he's phenomenal: Nasser Hussain

The Pakistani players haven’t played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the inaugural season (2008). However, Nasser Hussain has asserted his desire of watching Babar Azam play in the cash-rich league. Azam, the highest-ranked T20I batsman is making his name in the cricket globally and is highly regarded as the next big thing in the cricket. Still, his credentials can further be judged by how he performs in the IPL with the amount of pressure the extravaganza brings.

The IPL is often known as the epitome of the T20 leagues around the world. The quality of players, involvement of money and the Indian players are the biggest factors for the same. The accomplishments of players are also determined by how well they perform in the apex league. However, the Pakistan team is still away from the IPL due to the political dilemma between the two subcontinent rivals.

“It is like Manchester City not playing Manchester United”

The former English captain said that he doesn’t want to get involved in the political picture of it but he wants to see the young right-hander playing the biggest league. He also emphasized the impact of the league by comparing it to the football giants.

“I don’t want to get into the politics of it but India and Pakistan not playing each other are like the Premier League with Manchester City not playing Manchester United, or Everton-Liverpool or Spurs and Arsenal”, Nasser Hussain remarked.

Pakistan’s newly-appointed limited-overs captain is often seen as one of the best in the game. He has an average of above 50 in T20Is and his performance have always been top-notch. In the 2019 T20 Blast, he top-scored with 578 runs at an age of 52.5 with a strike rate of almost 150, numbers which are phenomenal considering his consistency and the major shots he plays right from the textbook.

“It’s the ‘Fab Five’ and Babar Azam is in that”: Nasser Hussain

“It’s the Pakistani players not being in the IPL. The IPL will start soon and Babar Azam won’t be there. He’s a phenomenal player and he should be there,” Hussain was quoted as saying by Geo Super.

The former cricketer has always been a fan of the 25-year-old as he has always been vocal about how Azam is one of the premier batsmen of the world. He has also said that he should be counted as good as Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith.

“They keep going on about the ‘Fab Four (Kohli, Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and England captain Joe Root) — it’s the ‘Fab Five’ and Babar Azam is in that”, Hussain claimed.