Wasim Akram, former Pakistan captain, has hailed Babar Azam as an ‘exceptional talent’ and someone who has shown his excellence in all forms of the game. But the champion fast bowler refrained from comparing the 26-year-old Pakistan captain with Indian superstar Virat Kohli, adding that he would love to see Babar Azam perform as consistently as Virat in all three formats of the game on regular basis.
Babar Azam has impinged himself as one of the leading batsmen of the modern era thanks to his astounding consistency across all formats of the game in the past 12-18 months. Apart from Virat Kohli, Babar Azam is the only batsman to be in the top-10 rankings for batsmen in all the three formats of the game.
Babar has already racked up 12 hundred in 77 One-day Internationals at an average of 55.94 and five tons in 53 Test innings at an average of 45.44. The Pakistan white-ball captain was also the No.1 T20I batsman for a long period before being recently leapfrogged by England’s Dawid Malan.
“I wouldn’t like to make any comparison but having said that, I would like to add that Babar Azam is an exceptional talent, he has shown his excellence in all formats, but in patches. I would be very happy if he can see the comparison positively and becomes consistent in his performance like Kohli,” Wasim Akram told ANI.
‘I wish Pakistan youngsters get to be a part of it and I also wish to see Indian players playing in PSL’- Wasim Akram
During the same interview, Wasim Akram also called for Indian and Pakistan cricketers to play alongside each other in franchise-based leagues, adding that sports should be kept away from politics.
No Pakistani cricketer has participated in the IPL following the dastardly terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008; a situation that is unlikely to change given the current geopolitical tensions between the two neighbors.
“I have always believed that sports shouldn’t be a victim of politics but that is a government subject of both countries and it won’t be apt for me to say anything. But as you said in the question itself, yes IPL is one of the most competitive domestic leagues in the cricketing world and I wish Pakistan youngsters get to be a part of it and I also wish to see Indian players playing in PSL,” he said.
Also Read: I’m Still Trying To Chase That Dream – Mark Wood Hopeful To Make A Comeback In Test Cricket