Sarfaraz Ahmed: “Wait and watch Babar till he plays as much cricket as Virat, he will stand at the same stage”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, has backed captain Babar Azam to achieve just as much as India superstar Virat Kohli has when he has played the same number of matches.
Kohli started his international career much earlier than Azam, but the two have been regularly compared to each other since they are their respective country’s batting spearheads.
The 28-year-old Pakistan skipper has already broken a plethora of records, but Sarfaraz sees more tumbling as Azam’s sparkling career progresses.
“Wait and watch Babar till he plays as much cricket as Virat, he will stand at the same stage,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam has been in solid form in the last few months as he scored 76 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He then went on to make 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 37.66.
Most recently, he accumulated 207 runs in five matches in the Asia Cup, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan started the tournament with an impressive 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was abandoned due to rain.
Having qualified for the Super Fours, the men in green kept on rolling as they brushed aside Bangladesh by seven wickets.
It was after this that things didn’t go according to plan for Pakistan as they lost to India by 228 runs.
Still in with a chance to make it to the Asia Cup final, they failed to book their spot as Sri Lanka beat them by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 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, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir
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