Mohammad Hafeez: “I’ve never seen a more consistent batter in T20 cricket than Babar Azam in my entire life”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan team director and interim head coach Mohammad Hafeez said limited overs captain Babar Azam is the most consistent T20 batsman he has seen in his entire life.
Azam has been brilliant in the shortest format, having scored 3,698 runs in 106 T20Is, which includes three centuries and 33 fifties, at an average of 41.55 and a strike-rate of 129.12.
In Pakistan’s most recent T20I assignment, which was a five-match series against New Zealand, the 29-year-old amassed 213 runs, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
He then captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and finished as the highest run-scorer in the tournament 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.
Hafeez admitted it is beyond amazing to see how regularly Azam scores runs, regardless of whether he is playing international cricket or in domestic T20 leagues.
“I’ve never seen a more consistent batter in T20 cricket than Babar Azam in my entire life,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam will now lead Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will take place 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
[TS_Poll id=”5″]