Wasim Akram: “I think he can [get better]”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Wasim Akram, the legendary left-arm pace bowler, knows Pakistan captain Babar Azam as not reached his full potential as he still has room for improvement.
Azam is widely seen as one of the top batsmen across all three formats due to his ability to make big scores consistently.
While he is well on his way to becoming a modern great, Wasim insisted that the 28-year-old can still get better and be even more of a threat than he is right now.
“I think he can [get better],” the 57-year-old, nicknamed the Sultan of Swing, told the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Azam recently scored 76 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
In the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan that followed, he made 113 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
As for the Asia Cup, the Lahore-born batsman accumulated 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan started their Asia Cup campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India after their match was abandoned due to rain.
Having advanced to the Super Four stage, the men in green continued to impress as they crushed Bangladesh by seven wickets.
However, their unbeaten streak was ended by India, who annihilated them by 228 runs.
Coming off a huge loss, Pakistan suffered another blow as they failed to make it to the final after Sri Lanka beat them by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Azam is now leading the men in green in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India and scored five runs in his side’s 81-run win over the Netherlands.
Pakistan’s next match will be against Sri Lanka on October 10 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