Usman Khawaja: “He’s got the innate ability, I’ve seen it, where people bowl a nice channel ball and he sort of gets on top of it and smacks you through anywhere from mid-off through cover through point”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Usman Khawaja, the Australia opening batsman, has pointed out Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s incredible ability to smash good balls to the boundary.
He added that the 28-year-old makes full use of his “fast hands” to expertly find gaps that earn him four runs whereas other batsmen settle for singles.
This, according to Khawaja, is one of the traits that puts Azam right up there with the best batsmen in international cricket right now.
“He’s got the innate ability, I’ve seen it, where people bowl a nice channel ball and he sort of gets on top of it and smacks you through anywhere from mid-off through cover through point. A lot of people are trying to get ones off that ball, he’s just got these fast hands that smacks it and he finds gaps between point and extra cover for four,” he said in a Fox Cricket YouTube video where the Australian team picked their current ODI World XI.
Azam recently scored 76 runs in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He then proceeded to amass 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
His latest assignment was the Asia Cup, where he finished with 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan will now play in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, which gets underway on October 5.
Their opening game will be 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
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