Babar Azam Is Among Top-Five Batsmen In The World: Rashid Khan

Afghanistan’s leg spinner Rashid Khan has rated Pakistan Captain Babar Azam among the top five batsmen in the world right now ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Babar Azam recently led Pakistan to an excellent 2-0 home test series win against South Africa and also won the T20 series 2-1 against South Africa. He wasn’t in the best of forms in the series but managed to captain the team exceedingly well.

Babar Azam will play for the Karachi Kings in the upcoming Pakistan Super League while Rashid Khan will be playing for the Lahore Qalandars. Rashid Khan has been a sensation in the T20 format all around the world and he always relishes the challenge of bowling against big names like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and AB Devilliers.

“The Margin Of Error is Very Low” – Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is looking forward to the challenge of playing against Babar Azam whom he rates very highly to be among the best in the world. He added that the margin of error is very less against a top batsman like Babar Azam and revealed that he was lucky to be part of an international match alongside Shahid Afridi for World XI vs West Indies. He hoped to learn some different aspects of the game with Afridi and improve his hitting skills.

“The kind of performances he [Babar Azam] has given in the last four or five years in all three formats, he is among the top five batsmen in the world at the moment,” said Rashid.

“I enjoy the challenge of bowling to the top players. Like in IPL, when I bowl to Ab de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith, it shows me where I stand as a bowler and what I need to improve. I played against Babar in Asia Cup and I also played alongside him for Guyana Amazon Warriors in CPL, so we are also good friends. It will be a tough challenge to play against him, as the margin of error is very low against a top batsman like him,” he added.

“I didn’t get much time to discuss cricket with him. I have played only one game with him. I was so lucky to be in the same team as him during his last international match for World XI against West Indies at Lord’s.

Hopefully, in the upcoming PSL, I get to share some time with him and learn from his experience as he has played all over the world. I would love get some batting tips as well, since he is called ‘Boom Boom’ and knows how to hit big sixes,” he said on playing with Afridi.

Rashid Hopes For Bilateral Series Against Pakistan

Rashid stressed the importance of Pakistan and Afghanistan playing cricket against each other and hoped that the PSL might pave the way for a future bilateral series between the countries. He stated that international cricket will bring unity between the countries and the youngsters will gain a lot more experience by playing in Pakistan.

“It is very important for both countries to play cricket with each other. Sport has the power to unite people.

“We have come here to play PSL and hopefully this will pave the way for future series between both countries in all three formats. The more we play against the best sides, it will help us improve our cricket and our young players will gain valuable experience by playing in Pakistan,” he concluded.