Ramiz Raja: “In white-ball cricket, he has statistically become the best player in the world”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, firmly believes that captain Babar Azam is the best player in limited overs cricket from a statistics perspective.
Currently, the 28-year-old averages 59.17 with the bat in ODIs and 41.48 in T20Is.
Considering the extra pressure he has with the captaincy, Ramiz insisted that there is no one better than Azam.
“In white-ball cricket, he has statistically become the best player in the world,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently led Pakistan in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which the men in green won 2-0.
However, he wasn’t at his best during the series as he only managed to score 76 runs at an average of 25.33.
He regained some form in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, where he made 113 runs, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 37.66.
Right now, he is captaining Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where he kicked off his campaign with a bang as he smashed an entertaining 151 in the team’s 238-run win over Nepal.
Azam didn’t get the chance to bat in Pakistan’s clash with India as the match was abandoned due to rain after India scored 266 in their innings.
Despite this, Pakistan made it through to the Super Four stage, where they cruised past Bangladesh by seven wickets in Lahore.
Their next match will be against India on September 10 in Colombo.
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