Zaheer Abbas: “I have a lot of admiration for the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Babar Azam, players who have proven themselves in all three formats”
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Legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas has said that he has a lot of admiration for captain Babar Azam.
In addition to Azam, Abbas also has huge respect for India captain Virat Kohli and Australia batsman Steve Smith.
The 73-year-old noted that he is a big fan of the trio since they have “proven themselves in all three formats”.
“The modern game as far as batsmen is concerned has become rather strange. The influence of Twenty20 cricket has had huge repercussions for the game and not necessarily a positive impact on cricket,” Abbas told Wisden as quoted by PakPassion. “Twenty over cricket has become the main format to watch for many which I find rather sad. I don’t mind innovations in cricket, we saw that with what Kerry Packer brough many years ago, but when cricket is becoming shorter and shorter, then that has to be a concern.
“For me Test cricket is the true test of a cricketer and that has to be the case going forward. I have a lot of admiration for the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Babar Azam, players who have proven themselves in all three formats. However, I worry about the impact that Twenty over cricket has had on the modern generation of batsmen. There are some pretty ordinary batsmen making a living from playing in a rather average manner these days.”