The captain of Pakistan’s Test team, Shan Masood, further praised Babar Azam by calling him one of the top batsmen in the world. Babar is currently enduring a dry spell in Tests. Over the course of his last nine Tests, and 17 innings, he has been able to score only 352 runs, with an abysmal average of 20.71, his highest score being 41. In 55 Tests Babar has scored a tally of 3997 runs at an average of 43.92 with 9 hundreds and 26 fifties with the highest score of 196. Pakistan in a white ball series tour to Australia and Zimbabwe announced the 15 member squads with effect from November 4, 2022, Indian time with leading batsman Babar Azam missing the Zimbabwe tour and expected to play in Australia.
Masood said that nobody can dispute the fact that Babar has a long way to go. Moreover, the Pakistan Test captain reiterated that Babar has the complete potential of being “one of the strongest batsmen ever” in the longer format as well.
“Honestly, I think he is one of the best batsmen in the world. I am nobody to [say he doesn’t have a] future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test matches. He is in or around the rankings, I think. But then again, every little while, some people require a rest,” Masood was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Masood said that this would be a good opportunity for the 30-year-old and he is going to return as a better player.
“I think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he’ll come back a stronger player,” Masood said. “There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He’s played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he’ll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan,” he later added.
At the commencement of the previous month, Babar quit his position as captain of the Pakistan men’s white-ball squad, which the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) acquiesced to.
Last week, prior to the limited-overs tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, the PCB named wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as the new white-ball captain of Pakistan, while also appointing Salman Ali Agha as vice-captain.
Pakistan traveled to Australia earlier this week in preparation of the first ODI, which is set to commence on Monday at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
