Shoaib Akhtar: “He is challenging the top-tier of batsmen in the world”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes that batsman Babar Azam is “challenging the top-tier of batsmen in the world”.

Akhtar’s comments come after Azam scored an unbeaten 143 on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, which came off 192 balls and included 19 boundaries and a six.

Excluding his 143, Azam has made three hundreds in his last four Tests.

[interaction id=”5e077086675fcb13eee473a1″]

“It is exciting to see Babar becoming a strong contender in Test cricket too,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by Ary Sports. “Initially, he struggled with converting those double figures into triples but he has changed himself and now is up with some good innings under his belt.

“He has started playing all the shots fearlessly and his strike-rate has improved which is a boost for him personally.

“He is challenging the top-tier of batsmen in the world. He is focused on his target and accelerating towards them.”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Shoaib Akhtar reveals which Pakistan player the PCB has “wasted”

[interaction id=”5deb1621eb8aaf7dea259f44″]