Babar Azam: “I have faced Shoaib Akhtar when I was young, but his peak was next level and he was very quick”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam has admitted that legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar “was very quick.”
Azam recalled facing the Rawalpindi Express when he was younger, but conceded that when Akhtar was at his peak, his bowling “was next level.”
The 48-year-old still holds the record for the fastest ball ever bowled in international cricket at 161.3 kph (100.2 mph), which came during the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.
“I have faced Shoaib Akhtar when I was young, but his peak was next level and he was very quick,” Azam was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and finished as the highest run-scorer with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
He will now lead Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will be played in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha