Shoaib Akhtar on Babar Azam: “Soon, he hit me for a straight drive. Tab maine socha, ‘Main isko chhorunga nahi’ (Then I thought, I won’t spare you)”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Shoaib Akhtar, the legendary 161.3 kph Pakistan fast bowler, recalled how he got frustrated when a young Babar Azam hit him for a straight drive in the nets.
This incident occurred when Azam used to come to the cricket academy and the Rawalpindi Express told him to bat in the nets.
He had warned the Lahore-born batsman not to hit him for a straight drive, but when Azam did that, Akhtar recalled thinking that he wouldn’t spare him.
“I still remember Babar used to come to the academy. Mudassar bhai would accompany him at the time. Once, I told Babar to bat in the nets, and specifically told him to not hit me for a straight drive. But he’s a natural batter who relies on his cover and straight drives,” Akhtar told Suno News as quoted by NDTV.
“Soon, he hit me for a straight drive. Tab maine socha, ‘Main isko chhorunga nahi’ (Then I thought, I won’t spare you). Then, Mudassar bhai told Babar to come out varna ye ball mar dega (or else he will hit you).”
Azam recently led Pakistan to a 2-0 win in their Test series against Sri Lanka and a 3-0 victory in their ODI series against Afghanistan.
Next up for him and the men in green will be the Asia Cup, which will be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Asia Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir