Shahid Afridi: “Babar is [the] world’s number one player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Shahid Afridi, the former interim chief selector, firmly believes Pakistan captain Babar Azam is the best cricketer in the world.
Azam has been the most consistent run-scorer for the men in green across all three formats over the last few years.
Afridi acknowledged that it is impressive the 28-year-old from Lahore has broken numerous records and established himself as one of the top batsmen in the world despite having the pressure of leading the team.
“Babar is [the] world’s number one player,” he told Sports Yaari as quoted by Cricwick.
Azam recently played in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where he accumulated 76 runs at an average of 25.33.
Having won 2-0, Pakistan will now play three ODIs against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka from August 22 to 26.
The men in green will then feature in the Asia Cup, which will be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Squad for Afghanistan ODI Series and 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel (Afghanistan series only), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr