Babar Azam was in top form during Australia’s tour of Pakistan.© AFP
Rated by many as one of the best batters in modern-day cricket, Babar Azam was on the receiving end of special praise from former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif. Speaking on YouTube, Latif rated Babar ahead of former Pakistan greats like Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul-Haq. The 53-year-old also went on to label Azam as “the Bradman and Lara of this era”. “I had tweeted back in 2019. We were on the tour of England. I had written everyone’s name whom I had played with – Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Yousuf, Younus, Saqlain. But he is ahead of them all. I am talking about a long time ago. He’s obviously become a big player since”, he said.
“We can’t compare because here I’m not only talking about Babar. All these guys, Virat, Rohit, Williamson – all these cricketers who are playing ODIs, they are batting with 10 fielders”.
Latif also stated that only one batter in Pakistan is better than Azam and he named former opening batter Saeed Anwar.
“I’ll talk about Saeed (Anwar). There hasn’t been a batter quite like him. Undoubtedly, the No.1 batter Pakistan has ever produced. I have seen him from close quarters and trust me, he was a charismatic player. He hardly would practice. So, to compare eras wouldn’t be fair”, he said.
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“Today there are five fielders inside the circle. Back then, there used to be four. Anwar or Inzamam would eat the bowlers if one fielder was less outside the circle. They were greats of that era. He (Babar) is the Bradman and Lara of this era. That’s the thing”, he further added.
Since making his debut, Babar has registered 2851 runs in 40 Test matches for Pakistan and has bagged 4261 runs in 86 ODI fixtures. Meanwhile, he has also hammered 2686 runs in 74 T20I outings.
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