Phil Simmons: “He’s [bordering] on being one of the greats of Pakistan cricket or world cricketers by the end of his career. So that’s [the] least compliment I can pay him, he’s up there and he’s [been] up there for a while now”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Karachi Kings head coach Phil Simmons believes Babar Azam is on track to become “one of the greats of Pakistan cricket” by the end of his career.
Simmons noted that Azam has been up there with the best of the best for a while now as he has consistently scored runs in all three formats.
Since he has rewritten the record books on multiple occasions as well, Simmons admitted that there is nothing stopping the 29-year-old from joining the illustrious club of Pakistan’s top batsmen in history.
“He’s [bordering] on being one of the greats of Pakistan cricket or world cricketers by the end of his career. So that’s [the] least compliment I can pay him, he’s up there and he’s [been] up there for a while now,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently amassed 126 runs at an average of 21 in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, which they lost 3-0.
He then went on to score 213 runs, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142 in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Despite his efforts, the men in green were beaten 4-1.
Currently, Azam is captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has made 330 runs in five matches, which includes a century and two fifties, at an average of 82.50 and a strike-rate of 151.37.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph
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