James Anderson: “I’d pay double for him (Babar Azam)”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
James Anderson, the England fast bowler, admitted he was shocked that no team wanted to sign Babar Azam for The Hundred, saying he would have paid double for the Pakistan captain.
Azam entered the draft with a price tag of £100,000, but no one bid for him even though he has been a consistent run-scorer in the format.
Given that he averages 41.48 in T20Is and 44.02 in his overall T20 career, which includes domestic matches, Anderson was at a loss for words regarding the fact that the 28-year-old went unsold.
“I’d pay double for him (Babar Azam),” he said on the BBC’s Tailenders podcast as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan will now play two Tests against Sri Lanka from July 16 to 28.
As for Anderson, he is currently involved in The Ashes series between England and Australia.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood