Josh Hazlewood: “He’s probably a little bit younger than the other guys, he’s sort of following in the footsteps pretty quickly behind Virat [Kohli], he’s a few runs behind, but again, his numbers are unbelievable”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Josh Hazlewood, the Australia fast bowler, admitted Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been putting up incredible numbers when batting and is rapidly closing the distance between him and India superstar Virat Kohli.
While many see Kohli as the pinnacle of batting greatness in the game today, Azam has been making waves with his consistency across all three formats.
Numerous former and current cricketers see him as one of the best batsmen in the sport, especially considering that he is ranked number one in ODIs, fourth in Tests and joint-third in T20Is.
“He’s probably a little bit younger than the other guys, he’s sort of following in the footsteps pretty quickly behind Virat [Kohli], he’s a few runs behind, but again, his numbers are unbelievable,” Hazlewood said in a Fox Cricket YouTube video where the Australian team picked their current ODI World XI.
Azam recently scored 76 runs in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He followed that up with 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
His latest assignment was leading the men in green in the Asia Cup, where he accumulated 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan will now feature in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, which starts on October 5.
Their first 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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