Marnus Labuschagne: “He’s got a bit of a lower bat, he sort of stands up on top of the ball a little bit more and he hits quite straight, where you know [Virat] Kohli and Steve [Smith] can tend to hit a bit squarer. He forces the ball down the ground really well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Marnus Labuschagne, the Australia batsman, has praised Pakistan captain Babar Azam for the way he hits “the ball down the ground really well.”
He noted that the 28-year-old’s ability to play down the ground is quite unique as other world-class batsmen like India’s Virat Kohli and Australia’s Steve Smith “tend to hit a bit squarer.”
Azam habit of scoring runs consistently has elevated him to the top-tier category of international batsmen as numerous former and current cricketers agree that he is one of the best right now.
“He’s got a bit of a lower bat, he sort of stands up on top of the ball a little bit more and he hits quite straight, where you know [Virat] Kohli and Steve [Smith] can tend to hit a bit squarer. He forces the ball down the ground really well,” Labuschagne 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 then went on to make 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
Most recently, he captained the men in green in the Asia Cup and amassed 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Currently, he is leading Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has made scores of 5, 10 and 50 in their first three games against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and India respectively.
The men in green started their campaign with back-to-back wins before suffering a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of India.
They will now be looking to bounce back and secure their third win when they face Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru.
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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