Josh Hazlewood: “[He] has been [class] for a long time. Sort of burst on the scene in ODI cricket and then changed his game to be strong in the Test arena as well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood said Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has been a “class player” for a long time now.
He noted that the 29-year-old burst onto the scene in ODIs before strengthening his game so that he could excel in Test cricket as well.
Azam has been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer for the past couple of years and has broken numerous records along the way.
“[He] has been [class] for a long time. Sort of burst on the scene in ODI cricket and then changed his game to be strong in the Test arena as well,” Hazlewood said in a video posted by Cricket Australia on Instagram as quoted by NDTV.
Azam recently played for Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia and scored 126 runs at an average of 21.
He was then involved in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, where he amassed 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
The men in green lost the series 4-1 after claiming a 42-run consolation win in the fifth T20I.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan