Gautam Gambhir: “I believe that there is Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and David Warner but Babar Azam has [a] different level of quality”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir believes Pakistan captain Babar Azam “has [a] different level of quality” in comparison to other top batsmen in the world, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and David Warner.
Azam hasn’t been in the best of form over the past couple of months and while he has made several encouraging starts in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, he has failed to convert them into big scores.
The 29-year-old has made 282 runs, which includes four fifties, at an average of 40.28.
Despite not living up to expectations, Gambhir still sees something uniquely special in Azam.
“I believe that there is Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and David Warner but Babar Azam has [a] different level of quality,” he told Star Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan kicked off their World Cup campaign with successive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before suffering defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
After four straight losses, the men in green finally bounced back with back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand.
With their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals still alive, Pakistan will be aiming to take down England on November 11 in Kolkata.
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