Last Update on: April 15th, 2020 at 05:01 pm
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Babar Azam, 25, has grown his game to become one of the finest batsman for Pakistan in the current era. Premier South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn was critical of his abilities during the series against Pakistan in 2018-19 where he had launched few attacks on Babar Azam. But it was Azam’s batting prowess which made Dale Steyn regret underestimating the Pakistan star.
Azam not only took Steyn to the cleaners on a few occasions but also hit 221 runs from three matches in the series. Recalling about his duel with Azam, Steyn shared his view on the Pakistan batsman and how it has changed over the years.
Babar Azam came out and played with that aggressive mindset: Dale Steyn
“I love the fact that Babar came out and played with that aggressive mindset. I know I bowled like five half-volleys in a row to give him that opportunity to get onto that role. I think I probably underestimated his ability. He had a couple of great drives. I thought I would send it wider but he was able to get on top of that as well,” Steyn said in the video.
Babar Azam has a brilliant track record across format and has went on to become an integral part of the team. Steyn thinks he used the duel as a stepping stone. It was more so, because Steyn was the best bowler in his eyes.
“He has now gone on to make a billion runs since then. He used that as the stepping stone because he had taken on a bowler who in his eyes was one of the best. That is awesome. It is nice that there is a cat and mouse thing with everyone. When we face off next time, it is going to be back to zero. The past won’t matter. It’s really nice that he has gone on to be as good as he is,” added Steyn.
Babar Azam has scored 1850 runs in Test, 3359 in ODIs and 1471 in the shortest format of the game. He had a decent appearance with Karachi Kings in the PSL, notching up three half-centuries from 10 matches.