Mahela Jayawardene: “Being the captain as well, he has taken responsibility and performed, which is great to see. [It’s] not an easy thing to do”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Sri Lanka icon Mahela Jayawardene admitted he is impressed with Babar Azam for taking responsibility to lead by example since he captains Pakistan.
Azam is the spearhead of the batting line-up and often rescues his side from precarious situations.
Jayawardene said the 28-year-old deserves a lot of credit as it is “not an easy thing to do”.
“Being the captain as well, he has taken responsibility and performed, which is great to see. [It’s] not an easy thing to do,” he told The ICC Review.
Azam recently led Pakistan in their two-Test series against New Zealand, which ended as a draw.
In those matches, he scored 226 runs, which included a top score of 161, at an average of 56.50.
Pakistan and New Zealand will now play a three-match ODI series, which starts on Monday in Karachi.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand ODI series: Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir