Shoaib Malik: “I am a fan of Babar Azam. I like his work ethic a lot”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has revealed that he is a big fan of limited overs captain Babar Azam.

Malik praised Azam’s work ethic and said that the 25-year-old is purely focused on becoming better “despite being surrounded by a negative culture”.

He added that Azam’s meteoric rise to success will serve as inspiration for many of Pakistan’s future stars.

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“I am a fan of Babar Azam. I like his work ethic a lot,” Malik told Cricket Pakistan. “Babar doesn’t stray away from his work ethic despite being surrounded by a negative culture. His story can be inspiring for upcoming youngsters. I feel very proud when he gets praise from all over the world.”

Meanwhile, Malik is also optimistic that Azam will enjoy a lot of success and captain and advised him to always back his players like India skipper Virat Kohli does.

“Now he [Babar] is a captain in two formats and I hope he succeeds. My best wishes are always with him,” he said. “At the same time, he needs to support his players and make a pool of cricketers. Like Virat Kohli, Babar should fully back his players so that they fight for him on the field and he becomes a great captain. This way, players won’t be insecure of losing their place after one or two bad performances.

“When you make someone a captain then give them power because captain runs the entire show. It is a good decision by PCB to make him captain for long term. He needs to be given full authority so that he makes his own team.”

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