Wasim Akram: “Babar Azam for Pakistan is like [what] Brian Lara was for West Indies”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Wasim Akram, the iconic left-arm pace bowler, believes captain Babar Azam can have the same impact for Pakistan as legendary batsman Brian Lara did for the West Indies.
Like Lara, Azam is the leader of the Pakistan batting line-up and is often relied on to score runs.
On top of this, he has broken multiple records and played a number of match-winning knocks across all formats.
This, according to Wasim, puts the 28-year-old in the same category as Lara.
“Babar Azam for Pakistan is like [what] Brian Lara was for West Indies,” the Sultan of Swing was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Recently, Azam amassed 76 runs in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He then proceeded to score 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
Currently, he is in action in the Asia Cup, where he kicked off his campaign with a sensational 151 in Pakistan’s 238-run victory over Nepal.
In the next fixture against India, he didn’t get a chance to bat as the match was rained off following India’s first innings score of 266.
Despite the result, Pakistan made it through to the Super Four stage, where they will play Bangladesh on September 6 in Lahore.
The men in green will then take on India once again on September 10.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â 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