Haider Ali Better Than Babar Azam In White-Ball Cricket, Says Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has come with yet another bold statement, saying 19-year-old Haider Ali is a better batsman than Babar Azam in white-ball cricket. Shoaib Akhtar’s comments came a day after Haider Ali scored a sensational fifty on his T20I debut against England in Manchester.

He scored 54 off just 33 balls with the help of 5 fours and two sixes. Congratulating Haider on his impressive debut, the former cricketer went on to state that the youngster had the talent to become one of Pakistan’s greatest players. Haider, who played in this year’s U19 World Cup, earned his maiden call-up from the senior team after impressing in PSL 2020 with his big-hitting ability.

The right-handed batsman became the youngest player to score a fifty in the PSL. In 9 games that he played for Peshawar Zalmi, Haider scored 239 runs at an average of almost 30, but it was his strike-rate of 158.27 that caught everyone’s attention.

Haider Ali is a superb talent. He played really well in U19 @cricketworldcup, @thePSLt20 and he showed it today: @babarazam258 #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/uW9UyWF5c0

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 1, 2020

“Haider Ali is at par or even better than Babar Azam in white-ball cricket because he has the talent. Today you backed the right talent and he [Haider] proved you right,” Shoaib Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

“Very well done Haider Ali, you have done a marvellous job. You are a future star and these are exactly the kind of players we need to build,” he added.

Shoaib Akhtar on Babar Azam:

Speaking about Babar Azam, Shoaib Akhtar said the Pakistan skipper must work on his strike-rate in T20 cricket. Babar scored 56 runs in the second T20I but played 44 balls for the same. In the third game, he managed to score only 21 off 18 balls.

“Babar Azam’s strike rate is an issue which he needs to resolve. When he comes in to bat, we need his strike rate to be above 150,” Shoaib Akhtar said.

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