'The 21st century belongs to him' - Wasim Akram hails 'good leader' Babar Azam
I love his work ethic, he is focused and he’s never satisfied with his performance, Akram also said.
Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has heaped massive praises on incumbent captain Babar Azam. The legendary pacer went on to suggest that the 21st century belongs to Babar, under whom Pakistan cricket continues to thrive and shine.
Babar, who is currently ranked in the top 10 of the ICC rankings of each of the three formats, recently lead his team to a 3-0 victory against West Indies at home. Meanwhile, Akram feels that Babar has plenty more to achieve and his current purple patch is merely the start of something much bigger that is in store for the 27-year-old.
Akram, a legend of the game in his own right, appraised Babar’s work ethic while lauding him for his hunger to succeed always.
“He came through the proper ranks, I have worked with him in Karachi Kings as well from last three years. I love his work ethic, he is focused and he’s never satisfied with his performance and that’s a sign of a good leader. I knew at the time, with this boy, with his work ethic, with his talent, he will definitely perform and be consistent,” Wasim told Sport 360.
“And now he’s the part of Fab four. [Virat] Kohli, [David] Warner, [Joe] Root and Babar is now getting high on top. Kohli is up there with Babar,” he added.
He further kept Babar parallel to the former legends of Pakistan, stating: “You see if you talk about Pakistan batting, you start with Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Inzamam-Ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousaf and then now it’s Babar Azam. The 21st century belongs to Babar Azam, he’s the man. And he’s still got plenty in him,” he added.
Babar led Pakistan’s sensational campaign at the T20 World Cup earlier this year in the United Arab Emirates, where the Asian team stormed into the semi-finals, winning all five of their Super12 fixtures, including victories over India and New Zealand. However, a loss in the decisive shootout against Australia meant Pakistan could not proceed to the final. That said, Babar had a brilliant run as both a batter and leader in the year 2021.
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