Steve Smith names Babar Azam as his favourite Pakistan batsman

Steve Smith, the number one ranked Test batsman in International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings showered praises on Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam. In a Question and Answer session with his fans, Smith revealed that he likes watching the 26-year-old cricketer, hailing from Lahore bat.

Azam has solidified his position as one of the best batsmen of the modern era as he is the only cricketer to have a spot in the top five of the ICC batting rankings across all three formats of the game. He is ranked at number two in T20 Internationals, Number 3 in ODIs, and Number 5 in the longest format of the game.

The cricketer is often hailed with the likes of Fab-4 of cricket which includes Indian skipper Virat Kohli, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, England’s Test skipper Joe Root and Australia’s swashbuckling batsman Steve Smith. With 2045 runs in 29 Tests, 3359 runs in 74 ODIs, and 1548 runs in 41 T20I matches since making his debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe, the Lahore-born has caught the attention of everyone.

On November 24, Tuesday Smith organized a Q & A session on his official Instagram handle where he answered a variety of questions from his fans ranging from his personal to professional life. During the session, a fan asked Smith the name of his favourite Pakistan cricketer.

To this, Smith replied, “I like watching Babar Azam bat.”

Steve Smith is ready for the India series

The former Australian captain will be seen in action from November 27 against touring India in a One Day International. India is scheduled to play a three-match ODI and T20I series followed by a four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Ahead of the highly-anticipated tour, Smith revealed about his preparation.

He wasn’t at his fluent best in the just-concluded 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) and as a result his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals finished at the last spot on the points table. However, the Australian batsman has finally managed to find the rhythm and is looking forward to facing India.

“I was pretty disappointed with my batting throughout the IPL. Wasn’t consistent enough, I started well and had a few innings here and there. I never really got into a really good rhythm. The last few days I have found something, that people close to me that know me well know, I have sort of found my hands the last few days which I am extremely excited about. It just hasn’t been right until a couple of days ago, and everything clicked in. It’s taken me three-and-half, four months to do it,” Smith said.