AB de Villiers: “I love the way he plays the game. The calm manner in [which] he plays the game, it’s very similar to Hashim Amla”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
AB de Villiers, the iconic South Africa big-hitter, admitted that Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s calmness at the crease reminds him a lot of Hashim Amla.
De Villiers played alongside Amla for the Proteas and noted that Azam has all the same traits, including never being flustered and rising to the big occasions.
The 28-year-old’s consistency when it comes to scoring runs has also played a big role in cementing his reputation as one of the top batsmen in the world.
“I love the way he plays the game. The calm manner in [which] he plays the game, it’s very similar to Hashim Amla, always very calm at the crease, always looks in control, never flustered, he loves the big moments, he loves the pressure, and I have a lot of respect for him,” De Villiers said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam has been in solid form as of late as he recently scored 76 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He followed that up with 113 runs in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
In his most recent assignment, which was the Asia Cup, he made 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India after their match was washed out.
Having got through to the Super Four stage, the men in green registered a comfortable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.
However, things began to go downhill from here as they lost to India by 228 runs.
Despite still having a chance to make it to the Asia Cup final, Pakistan failed to do it as Sri Lanka beat them by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
The men in green’s next assignment will be the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, which will begin on October 5.
Pakistan will start their campaign against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali