Babar Azam Close To Being In The Same League Of Virat Kohli And Steve Smith: Misbah Ul Haq

Babar Azam has impinged himself as one of the leading batsmen of the modern era in the past 2-3 years. And, he has done that through sheer hard work, relentless consistency, grit, character, and perseverance to be the best version of himself. And, hasn’t he done that with disdain.

Having made his international debut in 2015, Babar Azam averages in excess of 50 in One-day International cricket; is the No.1 ranked T20I batsman in the world and is the only batsman apart from Indian superstar Virat Kohli to be in the top-10 rankings in all formats of the game.

Babar did not have the greatest of starts in Test cricket but he seems to made amends for it after having scored four hundreds in the last five Test matches. Such is the consistency of Azam that he is now being equated with the likes of Steve Smith, Virat Kohli- two of the best modern-day batsman.

According to Pakistan head coach+chief selector, Misbah Ul Haq, the Pakistan white-ball captain is very close to being in the same class of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, or Joe Root.

“I don’t like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root. He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example.” Misbah-ul-Haq told Waheed Khan on Youtube channel, Cricket Baaz.

Also Read: Pakistan’s Rankings In Test, ODIs And T20Is Is Not Acceptable: Babar Azam

Babar Azam loves challenges: Misbah Ul Haq

Misbah Ul Haq further heaped high praise on Babar Azam, stating that the current No.1 ranked T20I batsman does not play for money. According to Misbah, Babar has this burning desire of being the top-performer for his country and he is always pitting himself with the best in the world, whether it is Kohli or Smith.

“He is in a zone of his own. He just doesn’t want to be in the team. He just doesn’t want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith. He loves challenges in the nets and on the field. He has really matured as a player and in time he will get better as a captain with experience,” Misbah added.

Babar was recently named as the captain of the Pakistan ODI team, and it will be interesting to see how the 25-year-old responds to the additional responsibility laid on his shoulders.

Also Read: Babar Azam Slammed By Rashid Latif and Shoaib Akhtar For His “Vision-Less Press Conference”

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