Dinesh Karthik: “It is a very strong ‘Fab Four’ that we are talking about and they have obviously been there for much longer, but there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials and he is going to make it a ‘Fab Five'”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Kartik said Pakistan captain Babar Azam is going to turn the Fab Four into a Fab Five.
The Fab Four has traditionally consisted of India’s Virat Kohli, England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
However, given the way Azam has been playing, Karthik feels it is only a matter of time before he becomes a member of the elite club.
“It is a very strong ‘Fab Four’ that we are talking about and they have obviously been there for much longer, but there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials and he is going to make it a ‘Fab Five’,” Karthik told The ICC Review. “There is no doubt he is there or thereabouts.”
Over the past few months, Azam has been in scintillating form with the bat as he tormented both Australia and the West Indies.
In the three-Test series against the Baggy Greens, he made 390 runs, which included a career-best 196 and two fifties, at an average of 78.
He then scored 276 runs in three ODIs, which included two centuries and a fifty, at an average of 138.
The 27-year-old maintained his form in the one-off T20 International as he blasted 66 off 46 balls, which included six boundaries and two sixes.
In the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, he amassed 181 runs, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 60.33.
Azam will now lead Pakistan in their two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which will take place in Galle and Colombo from July 16 to 28.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah
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