Former India cricketers Wasim Jaffer and Vijay Dahiya backed Babar Azam and said that he would be seen batting with ease very soon and can be a crucial asset to Pakistan’s team in match against India in the Super 4 clash on Sunday (September 4).
While speaking exclusively on CricTracker, Jaffer stated that Pakistan’s batting revolves around Babar Azam and he will be seen in form in Super 4 stage.
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“Babar Azam is at such a stage of his career that his name is included when we speak of the top 4 or 5 cricket in grades in the world. And at the moment Pakistan’s batting revolves around Babar Azam. So yes if a player like Babar Azam is dismissed for low scores consecutively then there is a sense of concern. But he is a quality player and we will surely get to see him in form during the Super Four stage,” said Jaffer.
He further added that Pakistan’s middle order is quite weak and India should look forward to take their top three batters cheaply after which they can control the game.
“A player like Babar Azam cannot be kept out of the game for a long time because he is currently ruling across all formats. Pakistan’s top 3 are the most dangerous players on the team and India would surely be hoping to get them down early in the game. Their middle order is a little inexperienced and so India will hope that Babar Azam has a failure again,” he added.
On the other hand, Dahiya also reckoned that Azam’s cover drives are unmatched, and he bats with sheer elegance. While praising the Pakistan skipper, he said that a player should be defined by his consistency with the bat, irrespective of what the pitch conditions or the score total are because that is what makes them unique.
“Whenever you speak of some batter, the major factor to look upon is his consistency. We tend to look at how he scores the runs under what situations and his choice of shots as well. And in that aspect, Babar Azam is a class apart. The way he gets on to scoring is just brilliant. Even the top cricketing legends have reckoned that Babar Azam’s cover drives are unmatched,” Dahiya said.
“He has that elegance because of which we enjoy watching him bat. It does not matter who the opposition is, or what the pitch is like, or the total to be chased. Nothing matters when Babar is batting in proper rhythm and that’s the uniqueness of a good player. The viewers should be patient and enjoy Babar’s batting,” he added.
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Azam did not score well in the last two matches of the Asia Cup Group stage. In the first match against India, he scored 10 runs off 9 balls while in the second match against Hong Kong, he managed to get only 9 off 8 balls.
Azam-led team faced defeat in the first match against India as the men in blue registered a five wicket win. However, Pakistn’s run against Hong Kong was quite significant as they broke multiple records and registered a massive win against Hong Kong.
Pakistan had put up a big score of 193 runs in the first innings, and went on to bundle out Hong Kong on just 38 runs in the second innings to bag a thumping victory.
At the back of that victory, Pakistan will be eyeing for a good match against India in their first game of the Super Four, today (September 4).
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