IND vs PAK: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj Can Test Babar Azam Properly - Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir believes that the Indian pacer trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Mohammed Siraj can test Babar Azam in the upcoming India vs Pakistan game in the Asia Cup 2023. He believes that it’ll be a good contest.

India and Pakistan will face each other in the third game of the Asia Cup 2023. The match will take place on 2nd September in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It’ll be a staggering contest to watch as both the teams over the last few years have engaged in some intense battles.

For the Indian team, Pakistan captain Babar Azam will be the biggest hurdle. The right-hander is in the red hot form and has been the backbone of his team for the last few years and is currently one of the most consistent batters going in World cricket.

Babar Azam recently smashed a rollicking century against Nepal in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2023. The batter smashed 150 runs off 131 deliveries and helped his side win the game by the massive margin of 238 runs and kick-start the tournament on high.

Gautam Gambhir hailed Babar Azam for his incredible consistency and said that going into the game against India, he didn’t need to give any message. Speaking on Star Sports, he explained:

“Babar Azam doesn’t need to give any message. He has given a message in the 104 matches he has played. If you can score 19 centuries in 104 matches, I believe he will be in the top two or three players in all formats. So he doesn’t need to give a message.”

IND vs PAK: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj Can Test Babar Azam Properly – Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir added that Babar Azam will be tested against the Indian fast bowling. He believes that the Pakistan captain himself would want to get tested against a quality bowling lineup. He explained:

“However, it will be a good contest. He will be tested against the Indian fast bowling. You will get to see an Indian attack after a long time, where all three bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj) can test Babar Azam properly.

“Babar Azam’s real testing will not happen against Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, it will be against India. Such players also want to test themselves against this kind of bowling.”

Babar Azam so far has scored 5353 runs at an average of 59.47 in 104 ODIs. But his record against India isn’t something that he would’ve wanted. He has scored 158 runs in five innings at an underwhelming average of 31.60.