"He Had Great Trust In My Abilities": Babar Azam Reveals Who Backed Him When He Was A Newbie

While international cricket remains on the brink of resumption, the focus on Babar Azam has not veered away for months now. The cricketing fraternity will get to witness Babar Azam in action the next month when Pakistan take on England, starting with the T20 series. The two sides will also lock horns in three Tests which will prove to be Babar’s ultimate challenge.

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Having made his international debut in 2015, Babar Azam has rapidly established himself as the most dependable batsman for an unpredictable side. While the Pakistan team has blown hot and cold across formats for quite a few years, the right-handed batsman has found a knack of scoring runs.

At present, Pakistan’s limited-overs skipper remains in the top five rankings across formats and averages over 50 in ODI and T20Is. But there was a time like all other past greats when the Lahore-born batsman was a rookie and needed an expert’s push and belief to make it to the top-tier. Luckily, the 25-year old had one, who he credits for the batsman he has become today.

It was the former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur, who Babar reveals gave him confidence all the time and rated him highly when he was a newbie. The number on T20I batsman admitted that Mickey had great trust in his abilities. Arthur was sacked by the PCB after the 2019 World Cup and now currently coaches Sri Lanka.

“Mickey really supported me. He gave me confidence. He rated me highly even when I was very much a newcomer. He backed me all the time. The best thing about him was he had great trust in my abilities,” Babar said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“I must add that Misbah bhai is no different” : Babar Azam

While a few days ago former Pakistan batsman Aamer Sohail expressed concerns about Misbah-Ul-Haq mentoring Babar, the limited-overs skipper thinks differently. Babar Azam acknowledged that the coach and selector represents enormous confidence in him and that it helps when the coach trusts you.

“I must add that Misbah bhai is no different. He really backs me and has confidence in me. It really helps when your coach trusts you,” he added.

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