Pakistan's batting revolves around Babar Azam, he is a quality player: Wasim Jaffer

After losing their first game against India, Pakistan broke multiple records and registered a massive win against Hong Kong, and made their way into Super Four. Pakistan put up a big score of 193 runs in the first innings, and went on to bundle out Hong Kong for mere 38 runs in the second innings to bag a thumping victory.

Pakistan will now face India in their first game of the Super Four, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 4. In their recent Asia Cup fixture against India, the Men in Green faced a defeat as India clinched the game in the final over. But one thing that is a matter of concern for Pakistan currently is their skipper Babar Azam’s form in the tournament.

The batting maestro, who is among the top-ranked batters across all formats, was dismissed for low scores in both the games of the group stage. He was not much impactful either against India or against Hong Kong. While speaking on BatBricks7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, former India cricketers Wasim Jaffer and Vijay Dahiya backed Babar and said that he would be seen batting with ease very soon.

“Babar Azam is at such a stage of his career that his name is included when we speak of the top 4 or 5 cricket in grades in the world. And at the moment Pakistan's batting revolves around Babar Azam. So yes if a player like Babar Azam is dismissed for low scores consecutively then there is a sense of concern. But he is a quality player and we will surely get to see him in form during the Super Four stage,” said Jaffer.

“A player like Babar Azam cannot be kept out of the game for a long time because he is currently ruling across all formats. Pakistan's top 3 are the most dangerous players on the team and India would surely be hoping to get them down early in the game. Their middle order is a little inexperienced and so India will hope that Babar Azam has a failure again,” he added.

Babar Azam is a class apart: Vijay Dahiya

Vijay Dahiya reckoned that Babar Azam’s cover drives are unmatched, and he brings elegance while batting. He heaped praises on the Pakistan skipper and further said that a player should be defined by his consistency with the bat, irrespective of what the pitch conditions or the score total are because that is what makes them unique.

“Whenever you speak of some better, the major factor to look upon is his consistency. We tend to look at how he scores the runs under what situations and his choice of shots as well. And in that aspect, Babar Azam is a class apart. The way he gets on to scoring is just brilliant. Even the top cricketing legends have reckoned that Babur Azam’s cover drives are unmatched,” Dahiya said.

“He has that elegance because of which we enjoy watching him bat. It does not matter who the opposition is, or what the pitch is like, or the total to be chased. Nothing matters when Babar is batting in proper rhythm and that's the uniqueness of a good player. The viewers should be patient and enjoy Babar's batting,” Dahiya added.