Younis Khan: “I think Babar will be [the next Younis]”

Legendary Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has backed Babar Azam to replicate the success he had in his illustrious career.

Azam has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the limited overs formats as he averages 51.11 in ODIs and 53 in Twenty20 Internationals.

However, he has not enjoyed the same success in Test cricket, where he averages 24.90.

But, the 23-year-old did show some encouraging signs in the historic Test against Ireland, who made their debut in the longest format, as he struck a superb 59 to lend a helping hand in Pakistan’s five-wicket win.

Even though Azam’s statistics in the longest format don’t make for good reading in comparison to what he has achieved in limited overs cricket, Younis, who ended his career as Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in Tests with 10,099 runs, is confident that the Lahore native will become a superstar.

“I think Babar will be [the next Younis],” he told Omnisport as quoted by AOL. “I think he’s extremely stylish and he has the potential. If he plays, and he works on his fitness, then I think he will perform a lot for Pakistan.”

Younis retired alongside former captain Misbah-ul-Haq in May last year, but even though they left a massive void in the Test team, the 40-year-old believes that the younger talents will put their hands up and help Pakistan get through the transition period.

“They will handle it. People have a lot of concerns about this [struggling to cope with the pressure] but I think they will be okay,” he said. “Babar is growing up and he performs not only in the one-dayers and Twenty20 games, he performs everywhere.

“So, I think they will be able to handle these kinds of conditions and I think Pakistan is in a good shape as well, so I think this will be a nice series.”

When asked who he expects to shine in the two-Test series against England, which begins on Thursday at Lord’s, Younis said: “I think Azhar Ali is in good form, I think Asad [Shafiq] needs some back-up and he should lift his game as well. So, I think these two and Sarfraz [Ahmed] – he is a good leader. I think they will be able to handle this pressure.”